Evanna squealed, momentarily slammed back against the seat as the car surged forward in a burst of acceleration. Pain pulsated across her back while laughter rolled out, drowned out by the rock music pumping out of the car stereo. Her heart soared in an exhilarating rush as they whizzed along the highway like it was frictionless maglev. When they gathered speed, trees on either side flew by in a dizzying blur. Just as she clutched the seat, her breath hitching, Shane deftly shifted gears. The monster of a car emitted a drawn-out hiss before settling on a smooth uniform velocity.

"Holy cowsies!" Evanna shrieked, bursting into laughter again.

Her heart thudded against her ribcage in sync with Animal I Have Become. The beat vibrated her to the core as the subwoofer blasted out rhythmic spasms of bass.

She twisted around to see Shane chuckling as he leaned back against the seat, one hand relaxed on the steering wheel. Her eyes widened when he lifted the other hand and raked his hair in a slow, languid motion—attempting to tame it, but tousling it more in the process. He lazily turned his head and caught her gaze, the smirk on his face accentuating the roguish glint in his eyes. For a prolonged moment, she was effectively paralyzed, heart leaping to her throat again.

Then she tore her eyes away from his and tried to stifle the beaming smile that spread across her face.

Shane lowered the audio volume to a muffled throb. "You like my car?"

"Mhmm." She let out a breathy laugh. "It's insane! I love that hiss."

"That's the blow-off valve." His smirk grew more pronounced. "Turbo engine."

"Oh, I definitely like your car. No sign of nausea either so far."

He looked mildly alarmed. "Please don't barf."

"I wasn't going to!" She let out an indignant exhale. "Plus, I'd warn you beforehand."

"You don't take any meds?"

"I'm good. Even if I feel nauseous, I'm totally fine after barfing anyways. I brought an emergency barf bag and a mouthwash, in case it happens."

He frowned. "That's—never mind."

Bright sunlight flowed in from the window, its toasty touch warming the chilled interior. She tugged at the strip of cloth wrapped around her chest. Its edges rubbed against the tender welts on her back, and the sore intensified with time. She tugged harder at the binder in an attempt to loosen it, but Jinxy had secured it too well. I shouldn't have gone for the chest binder! Well, you planned on wearing the disguise the whole day, Ev!

"What's wrong?" Shane asked, voice lowered to bass notes.

"Nothing," she muttered. "Where was I? Oh, yeah, I like muscle cars anyways! Good for drifting—once you do some mods."

That grabbed his full attention.

She hastened to clarify. "Not in real life! I don't even have a car in this—I mean, I'm just talking about video games! Need for Speed."

"Right." His eyes twinkled. "So, you like drifting the most?"

"Yeah, 'cause it's not just about you going fast—I mean, I love that too and those insane police pursuits." She grinned. "Drifting is sort of artsy."

"Hm."

"Brings back memories." Evanna gazed at the pine forest in the distance as they zoomed through an uninterrupted expanse of green. "I used to push myself to break my own records. So in the end, I had to finish the entire race without breaking the drift, get the first turn perfect and—wait, do I sound like I'm bragging? I'm not bragging, okay! This is the sort of stuff I got excited about as a kid!"

He chuckled. "I played a lot of NFS myself."

"So, you're into...drag racing?"

"We used to go for drag races. Mostly during school break."

"What!" Evanna sat up straight and stared at him, jaw hanging open. "You race in real life?"

He glanced at her, a subtle smile hovering on his lips. "You think all I've ever done is go to school—and play the guitar?"

"Yeah..."

His smile broadened, and he shook his head.

Evanna leaned back. Her eyes glided absent-mindedly over the twine bands wound around his wrist. Holy cowsies! Well, why else would he have a car like this, Ev?

"How long have you been driving anyways?" she asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

"A long time. Legally, one year and two months."

Her forehead creased into a frown as her mental number line popped up for her to conduct some quick arithmetic. He's seventeen. "Your birthday's in January?"

"When's yours?"

"December."

"Hm." Shane drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as the car slid over a linear stretch of road. "So, what's your favorite car?"

She wriggled into a more comfortable position and said with a dreamy smile, "Equorea."

"Cool car."

"Mhmm, I'm getting it."

"It's expensive."

She shot him a look. "Um, yeah, Shane, the really good stuff is harder to get."

"I see that..." he said softly.

"What?"

"No, go on."

"I mean, look at it!" She straightened up, eager to gush about it. "It's a work of art! And it's so sustainable."

"Yeah?" His lips twitched.

"Electric, zero emissions, and the interiors are made of plant-based materials instead of primitive stuff like animal skin. So, when I get myself an awesome job, kick off a startup or two and get out of my mom's house, I'm treating myself with it."

He raised his eyebrows. "You're planning on getting rich?"

"Yeah." She shrugged as if that was the most obvious thing in the world, which elicited a laugh from him.

"What?" She crossed her arms. "You didn't expect me to say that?"

"No," he said, still grinning.

Annoyance prickled inside, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, a woman can't have ambition?"

"No, no, I knew you were a...woman of ambition," he murmured lightly.

She rolled her eyes.

"So, you want to live in a...mansion?"

"Uh, no, I don't wanna live like some rich toff in a bloody mansion!" Her mind conjured up the image of Oleanda and her house—though it was overthrown by an image of the manor in Tomb Raider. "Not that I have anything against fancy houses..."

"Hm."

She sneaked a peek at him to gauge his interest. "That's not what I'm talking about at all."

"So tell me what it's about."

She hesitated. "When I was in Nuara, I volunteered at this doggie rescue place. Do you know what they needed the most?"

He thought about it. "Donations?"

"Yep. If you want to run a nonprofit to change the world, you need money. And why is it that the last time we went to the moon was, like, half a century ago?" She propped her arm against the window as she stared out at the serene, blue skies. "There's so much to be discovered—so much resources and energy to tap into that'd help us grow as a civilization. But what's preventing us from reaching the stars?"

Shane whispered, "I see."

"Yeah, the launch costs have gone through the roof. We waste huge amounts of fuel and energy to get anything into space. I guess we need orbital infrastructure, and we need initial investments to build those. There are also engineering hurdles, but again, to develop materials for projects of that scale, you need to fund research. Apparently, that billionaire dude Solheim had come up with this skyhook project, but he's scrapped it. Now, if some of us who care about that stuff have cash to spare, that skyhook could've been built."

"You're mad at him for scrapping the project?"

"No, he's funding HEPLOK—to build this huge particle collider."

The purr of the car blended with the low beat of the music while he deliberated her words. "How do you know about that?"

"'Cause it's important to me."

"Why is it important to you?"

"It just is." She cleared her throat and tried to adopt a more convincing tone. "Well, I'm into physics—I mean, not just cosmos-related, but, like...general, um, stuff."

Seconds ticked as she focused on the streaking trees outside the window, accompanied by the vroom of passing vehicles.

"Am I boring you?" She threw him an anxious look.

"No, far from it—it's fascinating."

She narrowed her eyes. "Which part?"

"All of it." His ghost smile materialized again, and he added in a low voice, "You never fail to...blow my mind."

"Did you expect me to just think about anime all day?" She pouted. "I mean, I do think about it a lot—"

"I thought you think about cartoon boys all day." He sniggered.

"Oh, shuddup!" Her cheeks grew hot. "I dream about the future, okay! A future I want to see. A little less broken than things are now. And it'd be sad to not know the unknown..."

After a beat of silence, he whispered, "And not meet the aliens?"

Evanna stuck her tongue out at him and turned away. "They say we are the universe's way of knowing itself."

"Hm."

Her eyes wallowed in the idyllic scenery outside. And the universe is way more mindboggling than you could ever imagine—I mean, I have firsthand experience.

"I'm a bit chatty today." She traced the warm patches of sunlight on her clothes. "I'm quiet normally."

"I know...I like you being chatty with me."

"Hmph." Her face lit up with a smile that she tried in vain to suppress.

Then Evanna reached out a hand to increase the volume on the stereo. When the music started thumping in the closed space, she sang along under her breath, and they went on in companionable silence.

Evanna awoke from her nap and arched her back like a lazy cat. "Shane, stop the car please."

Stifling a yawn, she looked at Shane. He eyed her worriedly.

"What?" She reached up a hand to adjust her cap, now tipped askew. "Aren't we going to have brekkie?"

"For a moment there I thought you wanted to barf."

"Argh." She facepalmed.

They were heading towards a gas station that stood out by itself like a grey pockmark amidst the green.

"Are we gonna have brekkie there?" Evanna scrunched up her nose and then gave her dozy head a shake. "Oh..."

"Yeah, the car needs some food too," Shane said drily. "Then we'll stop further up for brekkie—breakfast."

She grinned.

He eased the car into the station and pulled up next to a gas pump. There were quite a few cars in the vicinity, while some were parked next to the convenience store.

Shane turned off the ignition, the keys jingling with the motion. Then he made to get out, which prompted Evanna to pull off her seatbelt.

"Stay inside—I won't take long," he said, pausing with his hand on the door. "Oh, you want to go to the restroom here?"

"No! Yuck!" she said immediately. "I mean, yes, I need to, but not here. It's probably awful."

"Hm. You're going to have to wait till we get to Valinia then."

"Okay."

"Or there's also the wilderness option if you're desperate."

"Oh, shuddup." She rolled her eyes and grabbed her backpack. "Anyways, I just wanna go to the store, 'cause I need a new sanitizer."

While he filled up the tank, Evanna fast-walked towards the store. The sun blazed down on her, robbing the cool inside her hoodie. She hugged herself like a small worldlet trying to prevent its atmosphere leaking out into space—then surreptitiously pulled her chest binder again.

Inside, she ambled past the aisles in search of hand sanitizer, hoping her brand of choice was available.

A thin man came striding down the aisle, his eyes glued to the small phone in his hand. She made to move aside, but his elbow collided with her. The force of the impact sent her petite form careening onto the shelf. Pain spread across her back while cans of food tumbled down with a loud clatter.

She whipped up her head to glower at the man, but he was already on his way, emitting a gruff "sorry" in his wake. People can be such a-holes.

"Are you okay, miss?" a plump woman called out as she arrived to survey the cause of the commotion.

"Yeah, thanks." Evanna bent down to grab the cans on the floor. "This guy bumped into me."

"Oh, shady-looking fellow." She shook her head. "He kept scratching at his flaky chin too. Disgusting."

Evanna shuddered. "Anyways, I'm just looking for a hand sanitizer."

"Come this way, miss." The woman led her to a shelf near the checkout counter.

Wait, so she knows I'm a girl? You probably just have a tomboy look, Ev. As her hands closed over the familiar bottle, Evanna inwardly facepalmed.

"Are you still in high school?" she asked with a spark of curiosity while scanning the barcode.

"Um, yeah."

The woman threw a disapproving glance in the direction of the store's glass façade. Evanna followed her eyes and saw Shane patiently waiting next to the car in statuesque perfection, one hand holding the nozzle in place as fuel pumped into the tank.

The moment she was done paying for her purchase, Evanna uttered a quick "thank you" and dashed out of the store. Holy cowsies, thank heavens I'm not in uniform.

Heat aggravated her discomfort as she sprinted to the car and got in. Her overheating head had started to itch. She unzipped her hoodie, chucked it onto the back seat and yanked hard at her binder until it loosened ever so slightly. Then she smoothed her tee and wriggled her feet out of her sneakers.

Shane sank back onto the driver's seat. "Evanna? Did something happen?"

"No, just this stupid—it doesn't matter," she muttered while he clicked his seatbelt into place.

As he turned to her, his eyes flitted to her chest, and a frown flickered over his brow. She squirmed in tandem with the fire that erupted in her face. Ev, he probably didn't expect you to do, like, full-on gender-bending!

Silence dragged on with painful awkwardness.

Then she crossed her arms in one stiff motion. He averted his eyes and started the car, valiantly maintaining a straight face.

"So, let's eat some bananas then," he murmured.

"Mhmm."

Back on the road, Evanna stared out of the window, willing her face to revert to its normal color. The landscape had changed to an open, grassy plain. It sloped upward as it receded into the distance, where it ended in pine forest. Tall wind turbines emerged in her line of vision, their blades rotating in lazy circles. Her hand crept up to twirl lock of hair, but inched back down when she remembered she was wearing a wig.

"We stop here?"

Her eyeballs strained sideways to peek at Shane, and she nodded. "Yeah, okay."

He pulled up by the side of the road, near a pine tree. As the car went into slumber, Evanna tuned into the soundscape of wind and birdsong, interrupted by the sporadic whoosh of a speeding vehicle.

Wind blew at her the instant she swung the door open. Then she rummaged for the bag of chips and handed it to Shane. Without waiting for him to respond, she hugged her tote bag and stepped outside, pine needles scrunching underfoot. For a moment, she stood and savored the cool touch of wind amidst the unrelenting sun.

When Shane came around to stand next to her, she was leaning against the car, peeling her first banana.

"Let me hold that," he said, extending a hand.

She held out one handle of the tote bag.

He hesitated, and his lips inched into a smile. When he wound the handle around his wrist, the tote bag lay open between them, the bananas weighing it down at the center. She plunged her hand into the bag of chips he offered her and munched on a crispy slice of potato.

"Look at that," he said, nodding into the distance.

In the periphery of her vision, Evanna discerned white shapes with telltale black markings roaming the crest of the distant hill.

Shane's voice lowered to a whisper. "Holy cowsies."

She stifled her laughter. "I wish I could pet one."

"Hm." He leaned back and bit into a banana.

They settled into a companionable silence again. The bananas she had picked were of the sugar variety, which now mushed into a sweet, chunky pulp.

"So," she said, smiling up at him, "what do you like to eat?"

"What do you like to eat? Other than bananas?"

"Mm, lots of stuff! It's hard to pick. I really like...my mom's pizza." She cleared her throat. "What about you?"

"Can't say I'm fussy about food," he said light-heartedly. "But if I had to pick...burgers?"

Evanna blinked. "Oh."

Of course! Probably double patty. Oh, so macho. How come he doesn't play rugby too? Wait, if you go on a date with him...Her mind transported her to a burger joint, where beefy men chowed down on massive hamburgers while she sat with a plate of chips probably fried with lard. She shuddered.

She shook her head, face heating up. The heck, Ev! What makes you think he'd go on a date with you! Plus, that's the least of your worries. If a fangirl doesn't drool over him and ruin it all, you'd get expelled from school the next day.

"Evanna?"

She jerked to reality. "Huh?"

He chuckled. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing." She took a big bite from her banana.

"Do you want to talk about the purpose of this journey or it's still a secret?"

"It's still a secret."

"A secret meeting with your ex?" he whispered.

"What!" She stopped chewing to stare up at him.

"Can't be your boyfriend," he added with mock seriousness.

"Nope, I don't have either of those," she mumbled. "I just want to find this house—and hopefully, the person is in. I have too many pressing matters to deal with to bother with guys. Guys are overhyped anyways."

Shane turned to watch her, which made her heart do its usual gymnastics routine.

"I mean, okay, it's fun to fan girl over people in movies or anime or whatever, but I think reality is way different. In real life, they might look cool," she said in a rush, chucking a banana peel into the open tote bag. Like the fine specimen standing right beside me. "But they might turn out to be totally uncool deep down."

"Hm." He appeared to be lost in thought. "There are...decent guys."

"Yeah?"

"Ash is a pretty good guy."

"I thought you were going to say you."

He chuckled again.

A gust of wind blew over them. Evanna was suddenly distracted by the way it ruffled his unruly mop of hair. It must feel so soft and lovely.

"Let's have some juice?" she asked with an expectant smile. "It's this new orange and carrot one—I've tried it before, and it's great!"

"Don't feel like it now, maybe—" he started to say and glanced at her face. "Okay, sure, why not."

She retrieved the carton of juice and trotted back to lean against the car. Then she unscrewed the cap, angled it over her mouth and took a long drink.

"What are you doing?" he asked slowly.

She gulped down a mouthful of juice and shot him a puzzled look. "What?"

"The way you're drinking it..."

"Oh, I believe it's called waterfalling? You wouldn't want to drink from this if I touch it, would you?"

His lips twitched, and he looked like he wanted to facepalm.

"What! For one thing, it'd be an indirect—"

She stopped herself at the last millisecond. Awesome, Ev. At least you didn't blurt it out. Do you think he even knows lame anime stuff like that! Feeling like her cheeks would spontaneously combust the more time she spent with him, she pushed the carton of juice into his hands and hopped back into the car.

Shane followed her in and deposited the carton on the back seat. His lips quirked up into his signature ghost smile as he started driving again.

The rest of the journey alternated between listening to Shane's music and gloomy episodes of motion sickness. The temperature rose as the altitude dropped—a change that manifested itself in the scenery outside, which impressed upon her that she was far from Komoreby. The vegetation gradually morphed to an overgrown mass of dry forest with bushy, stunted trees. A glimpse of the sea was visible in the distance, with coconut trees swaying amidst rocky beaches. Then they entered the city.

Gallenea was what she was vaguely reminded of, but this populous coastal city was far from quaint.

The sprawling expanse was saturated with a diverse montage of humanity—from seaside shanties to stately, old-fashioned villas, in the middle of which was a mottled collection of residences belonging to the bourgeoisie. Gaudy colors and blaring sounds clashed against one another in a jarring hotpot of chaos. People from all walks of life overflowed from the innumerable shops, buildings and walkways—accompanied by the occasional stray dog. Honking cars inched impatiently along the busier roads as rickety trishaws clogged every inch of space in-between. Cape Valinia was the embodiment of entropy.

"Wow." Evanna's gaze glued itself to the sensory overload outside the window. "Shane?"

"Mm?"

She watched a dog with mange emptying his bladder onto a trishaw wheel. "This place is...insane."

"It won't be like this further out in Mardane." Shane glanced at her. "But I had to bring you here."

"Oh, to see the city? It's fascinating."

He didn't respond as he drove towards an assortment of buildings that sported terracotta cladding and colorful adverts. He turned to a road that sloped down to the car parks.

"Where are we going?" she asked when he reverse parked into an empty slot.

"Aren't you taking off your disguise?"

"Oh, yeah."

When she got out of the car, hot air enveloped her. She looked around to see Shane approaching—and jerked in surprise when he flicked at something behind her back.

"That thing is coming undone," he whispered in her ear and started sauntering towards the elevators, trailing the familiar woodsy scent in his wake.

Evanna blinked. Her hand grabbed hold of the strip of cotton that was jutting out of her tee and hastily stuffed it back up. Scowling at him despite her embarrassment, she hurried to catch up to him.

They were soon inside an elevator that shot up to the ground floor.

As the elevator beeped open, golden light spilled in from a corridor brimming with people. Shane walked out, prompting her to follow.

Swallowed by the crowd, she revolved on her heels to get her bearings. People jostled past her. Then her eyes sought Shane, and for a nanosecond, panic clutched her heart.

His hand suddenly closed over hers, making her jump.

"Come on," he said, towing her along at a relaxed pace.

Warmth shot up from that point of casual contact, and butterflies fluttered inside. His hand was firm and smooth, easily enveloping hers with its reassuring hold. Kyah!

She trotted after him, fighting the smile that threatened to break out on her rosy face. She wiggled her fingers as if to confirm her hand was really in his. No way this is real! She wiggled her fingers a bit more.

He laughed. "Stop wriggling. You don't want me to hold your hand?"

She imagined steam escaping from her ears as the heat intensified. "I, um, don't mind."

"Hm." He laced his fingers through hers, making her heart flutter anew.

"Shane, where are we?" She tried to sound nonchalant, but her voice came out in a squirrelly chirp.

"If you go that way, you enter the mall," he said, jerking a thumb in the direction. "We're heading to the hotel."

She nodded. What now? Whatever. Wait, isn't this a couple thing? Don't be silly, Ev! This is probably how he is around girls.

Her eyes widened when the corridor opened up to a huge, opulent hotel atrium, where people were checking in at counters on the far side. Porters scurried around, and bronze trolleys whisked away heaps of luggage. The theme seemed to be the sea, since there were artificial coconut trees and a massive aquarium at the center. Evanna's mesmerized gaze followed large gourami and colorful tropical fish swimming inside the aquarium.

The crowd from the mall streamed towards the glass doors that led outside. Evanna was swept along until Shane veered left and led her up a wide staircase.

She squinted against the daylight that flooded in from arched windows. "Are we supposed to be up here?"

"Yep," he said.

He pulled her along to an inner hotel corridor with mahogany doors. It was deserted, and the hubbub of activity receded to an unobtrusive thrum.

In response to her quizzical expression, he said, "These rooms house salons and boutique shops."

"Oh."

They stopped next to a door displaying the universal female toilet sign in gold.

"This should be good enough." He released her hand, though his fingers lingered on her skin—as if his hand was defying an unseen force that bound it to hers.

"Thanks!" She smiled up at him and slipped through the door.

The empty restroom was comfortably large with floor length mirrors and marble counters.

As soon as her most immediate needs were gratified, Evanna darted up to the counter and took off her tee. Trying not to overly irritate her bruised skin, she unwound the strip of cloth around her chest until what resembled a tube top remained. She balled up the binder and stuffed it into her backpack—then rummaged around for straps and padding. She huffed as she reassembled the tube top back into her cropped cami.

Next, she set about removing the wig. Her scalp ached when she ran her fingers through her hair.

Freshened up and makeup renewed, she grabbed her backpack. A tug at her tee sent droplets of water flying, and she wiped more off her jeans. Then she worriedly fluffed up her hair, which fell to her hips in pendulous fronds of scarlet.

Out in the corridor, she came upon Shane leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets. He glanced at her and did a double take—then his eyes roved over her, making her cheeks redden to match the color of her hair.

"What?" she muttered, gripped with self-consciousness. "I just took off my disguise! Sorry you had to wait for me."

"No worries," he said, turning to walk back towards the staircase—and coughed, "hot."

"Huh?" Evanna frowned and trotted after him. "It's actually pretty cool up here. But then, I splashed some water on my face."

Smirking, he led her back down the stairs. As she followed behind, she eyed his hand longingly and pouted. Now, Ev. Don't be greedy.