chase found himself watching rowyn from a distance in school, noticing how close she has gotten with darius. he even started to sit with her plus her friend group during lunch, always sitting next to her. he noticed a drastic changed looking at now versus the start of the school year.

scarlett and rowyn used to sit together, alone. both of them seemed to be in their own bubble, now they are branching out sitting with the ones they appreciate and adore. after ronan committed suicide.... rowyn and scarlett began sitting by themselves at lunch, they practically were never even seen around the first few months of his suicide

they both ate lunch in the auditorium around that time. there was talking those first few weeks, they both were still trying to process things. beginning to wonder how they didn't see the signs, thinking that they weren't there for him as much as they should have been.

coming so far from what will be two years soon, they'd both cry thinking about how much has changed since then. the simple reason why their friends never went to sit with them during their tough days... because they wanted to give them space. the girls especially rowyn were constantly bombarded with questions plus condolences, it was genuine kindness coming from most people but it was traumatizing for her and her bestfriend. 

luke also had it rough losing his cousin in that way... he was one of the last people that ronan had talked to before taking his life. he'll never forget when his mom came into his room to break the news to him.... he fell into his mother's arms crying instantly

"it's my fault, i knew he was struggling and i didn't tell anyone." luke had cried out in pain

the hardest thing about it was that rory and anna forbid him from attending the funeral. they always have known that luke was either gay or bisexual since he was seven years old, it made them steer away from him, a whole child. they didn't really mistreat him until he officially came out, which wasn't a shocker to luke. he's never had a close relationship with his aunt and uncle.

rowyn had herself a duffle bag packed with many essentials for her day with chase, still not knowing where the hell he is taking her. everyone was sound asleep in the house, it was complete silence as she zipped up her bag. she stood up grabbing her duffle bag, making sure she packed enough clothes.

she walked out of her closet turning the lights off. going over to her bookshelf to grab some books she currently just bought with her allowance money, placing them in her wool plaid tote bag. rowyn made her bed neatly, turning every single light off.

she opened her wooden dresser placing her phone inside it, refusing to take it with her. rowyn isn't slow and knows her parents have a tracker on the phone. she didn't feel like getting busted and dragged back home, walking out of her room, she shut the door not making a peep

rowyn headed straight to the same window that taryn uses to sneak out of, she opened it noticing her parents still haven't got around to painting the window shut... it only made things easier for her. a quick breeze of the cool air hit her in the face, she threw her duffle bag out seeing it hit the grass.

the fall to the ground wasn't too far, rowyn jumped down falling onto her stomach staying quiet. she looked up to see taryn rubbing her eyes looking to see the window was open....

taryn stuck her head out of the window, her eyes scanning to her sister. they both stared at each other for a few seconds, rowyn knew her attempted escape was now over. it was worth a shot she thought

a smirk met upon taryn's lips, she felt proud. taryn then shut the window walking away from it going back into her room to go back to sleep. rowyn couldn't believe it, she felt herself chuckling. her sister was actually being supportive, rowyn could feel her body tingling thinking about it. it felt good to have taryn on her side

rowyn grabbed her duffle bag and ran through the grass in her white dirty converse heading to the white mail box that was at the end of the road. it was still dark as hell outside with the sun trying to vividly poke out a smidge within the sky.

she saw that chase was waiting for her, the motor running, him standing against the truck. when her presence was noticed through his brown eyes he took the initiative to take her duffle bag and place it in the front seat.

"goodmorning, how are you?" he asked happily

rowyn got mad in the blink of an eye, "pissed because you're a little too happy at five in the morning." she crossed her arms, chase snickered never getting enough of her smart mouth

he fixed his face, "i'm sorry. sorry." he said

"where are you taking me?"

"you'll find out soon." he teased, rowyn rolled her eyes starting to wonder if she should just sneak back into her house.... i still have time she thought mentally

there was a bit of silence between the two but chase decided that it was time to get moving. he still was in a bit of awe standing here. rowyn would have never agreed to anything like this months ago, she'd never say it to him... but she has began to trust chase a tad bit

rowyn frowned noticing that he was not driving one of the vehicles she normally sees. chase upgraded to a luxury cadillac suv, he went to the back of the trunk telling rowyn to come near him. he sighed knowing she wasn't just going to get in, questions were soon to be asked

"you'll be sitting back here the entire ride.."

the trunk slowly opened automatically, rowyn feeling her mouth form into the shape of an 'o' seeing what was back there. the back seats were put all the way up leaving massive space in the back. chase had set up a picnic like state for her

a fuzzy light pink blanket covered the flooring of the car, pillows surrounding every corner filling every spot. different kinds of snacks were place in the center along with different books that pertained to art, history and fiction. he also had a art journal for rowyn along with different kinds of markers, pens, crayons, paint and brushes.

he also had a sheet cover up making it feel like a tent, it didn't cover the windows that he clearly needed to see when driving. rowyn was blindsided, "wait why am i sitting back here? i won't be able to see anything out of the windows." she began

"because where we are going is a surprise plus you'll be in your own little world back here." chase replied sounding like he has known her for an eternity, his eyes twinkled looking down at rowyn who decided to just do what he said. there was clearly some effort put into this and she didn't want to make him feel bad.

when rowyn was inside, chase pressed the button to close the trunk then ran up to the front getting inside. she quickly got comfortable then noticed there was a walkie talkie placed perfectly in front of a pillow, "we are now in route to our destination." chase said goofily

rowyn cracked a grin grabbing it pressing the button to talk, "you're an idiot." they both laughed quietly at each other. rowyn felt the car moving against the gravel road, all she was ready for was this surprise....

"get up taryn!! get up!!" rory yelled bursting through her door, she heard her father yelling but barley moved an inch

rory stood over her aggressively shaking her legs, taryn opened her eyes fuming. "get up! you and rowyn are doing chores around the house this morning. get up, get ready then go get some mop water ready." he demanded sounding like a mean grumpy old grandpa

taryn sighed sitting up in frustration watching her father walk out of the door. she flipped him off then went to go brush her pearly whites. even in her bathroom, she could hear him yelling heading to rowyn's room. rowyn hadn't even bothered leaving the door halfway open like she is supposed too

rory barged into her room angry that still wasn't following his rules, "i told you about—-"

he stopped in his tracks seeing her bed was made. rory peeked into her closet then went into the bathroom not seeing her, "anna!!" he yelled

rory stepped back into taryn's room, "have you seen your sister?" he asked worriedly

"no sir." she said while wiping her mirror clean with some windex, he frowned shouting his wife's name again going downstairs. taryn lied with ease which is a gift, she always has been a great liar. ellie taught her and her other two sisters how to lie, taryn being the best one out of the other two

"honey have you seen rowyn?" anna continued on making breakfast, "no why? is something wrong?" rory rushed down the hall searching for his daughter in each and every single room. he looked around the vicinity of the house and property beginning to grow worried

tom and jerry was playing on the tv with luke and scarlett laughing away as nova was also giggling watching from the kitchen. she was currently fixing her and the kids some breakfast before they start their day off

the three of them are going to go to a few thrift stores then nova is taking them over to riley's house. they will be doing some acting improv with others mostly from the heartstopper play. they are excited especially thinking that rowyn is coming, she told them she'd be there today... lies

there was sudden banging on the door when nova took the last few slices of bacon off the frying pan, she turned the stove off then wiped it clean with a wet towel as the banging grew louder. "i'll get it." luke said seeing nova trying to rush to get to the door

when luke opened the door, anna barged in. not even noticing nova, "scarlett where is rowyn?" she asked panicking with every second that went by

scarlett was confused, "i'm not sure—-"

"scarlett you and rowyn are bestfriends. thick as thieves, i know you two tell each other everything. just please tell me where my daughter is." anna begged sounding desperate

nova walked over to anna, "scarlett doesn't know where she is anna. rowyn hasn't been over here, when was the last time you've seen her?"

"last night. we got up this morning to her being gone. no sign of her." anna revealed, they all felt their stomachs drop especially scarlett, this wasn't like her bestfriend. she always lets her know where she is going

"luke have you talked to her?" anna asked him

"no ma'am." he truthfully answered

on the other side of town, rory was at amelia and wyatt's place asking them if they have seen her to which they answered no. when he asked them where chase was, they told him exactly what chase said... which was that he went on a fishing trip with his buddies

to no avail, rory believed it. rory and anna went to luke's mothers house to ask her if she has seen rowyn, they kept running into the same answer. the police were called with them starting to search around the city of bardstown for rowyn...

after three hours on the road, rowyn had finished two paintings and got through a whole book. she was relaxing and actually got a little too comfortable. so comfortable that she felt disappointed when they came to a stop

chase opened the trunk with rowyn chattering her teeth, it felt even more colder than earlier before. chase smiled, "we're here." he said helping her get out of the trunk

when they got out..... they were in front of a diner that rowyn wasn't familiar with. she gave him a glance, "c'mon let's go inside." he suggested patting her on the shoulder

the sky was clear blue with no clouds appearing anywhere. barley any cars were in the parking lot, only two or three. when chase opened the door for rowyn, the bell dinged with workers acknowledging them being friendly as ever

the sweet smell of french toast and bacon hit their noses, making their stomachs growl even louder. chase walked ahead of rowyn who stopped still not getting what or where her surprise is.....

chase noticed she wasn't beside him and turned around to nod, "c'mon." he mouthed

rowyn started walking, toying with her fingers nervously. chase had went up to where a woman was sitting, all by herself. her back turned away from them, he whispered something in her ear earning a quick nod from her

he moved out of her way, her standing up to reveal herself. rowyn stopped.... her heart started racing, she felt like she was hallucinating. her and the woman stayed in their spots looking at each other

rowyn chuckled nervously, "ellie..." she whispered feeling confused

i love you all sm!! how are we feeling about where this book is going?