A midnight drive. I'd done this too many times to count in attempts to clear my head. I wasn't going anywhere particular, I just liked the silence and emptiness of the streets. I was going to miss this small town. The narrow back roads and empty downtown contrasted well with each other. It was like getting the best of both worlds I guess.

My window was rolled down and the chilled summer air blew threw the car just a perfect amount. I was driving quite lazily, to be honest. I had an arm out the window and one of my legs tucked into me. I never thought about how dangerous this would be, but it never ceased my mind at the moment since there never were cars around. My radio was off, my phone was off, nothing could bother me right now. The only thing I could hear were the jumbled thoughts in my head.

I wasn't happy, but I also wasn't sad. I kept contemplating on how I was living in this in between. I wanted my mom and I to live with great success and have this great life, but it's so hard to focus on when the people who matter are ripped from you. I didn't have a choice though, obviously. I wasn't 18 yet, but when I do turn 18 in a few months I can always move back down here. I'm so happy for my mom and now we're going to be living this new outstanding life in a new city where I've never been, and that excites me. I loved going yo new places, but at the same time I loved visiting old places.

I put my thoughts into actions and decided to drive towards downtown. After a few miles of the same thread of thoughts and emotions, I felt my breath oddly hitch once I caught a glimpse of the colored lights beaming from the cement ground. It was just past midnight, so I wasn't expecting the water of the fountain to turn on anytime soon. I parked my car out right out front, not even caring that I was sitting in a fire lane. My hands kept their firm grip on the steering wheel. I couldn't find any motivation in me to get out. I caught my lips tugging into a half smile as I was recapping everything that had happened here. I bit at the inside of my cheek and let my head fall. I sighed once and started my car back up again.

No matter how badly I wanted to drive over to Michael's and spend just one last night with him, I couldn't. And I don't think I ever would be able to. I knew two weeks wasn't enough time to fix things and mend them back together, but I just needed something from him. I needed an answer, an explanation. I respected his decision though. Even though I found it blunt and confusing, I still accepted it.

I tried to shake him out of my head, which I found myself actually physically shaking my head. I hadn't realized where I had been driving this whole time, I had just gone with the road and it's turns. I pulled up to a stop sign and squinted my eyes at the sign that read the street name. I turned my headlights to a brighter setting, getting a better read. I managed to make out the cross roads that told me I was a street behind the railroad tracks that were near Ashton's house. I drove slowly to the tracks and parked right in front of them. Technically, I was parked right in the middle of the road, but I didn't care, no one was here. I turned off my car but only left my head lights on so I was able to see where I was going. I stepped into the gravel and began walking in between the two metal tracks that when opposite of each other.

The rails were brown and rusted, something that was caused by the excessive amount of rain we got in spring. No trains ever came down here anymore, they haven't for the past 10 years. I loosely kicked the gravel as I kept my hands stuffed in the front pocket of my hoodie. Every time I breathed out I was able to see my breath. I loved the temperature drop from the sticky afternoons to the chilly nights. I looked up at the sky, the branches of trees slightly blocking my view of the stars.

I've always been able to point out constellations on the spot, it was something my dad got me doing before he left. I smiled lightly at the thought of him, wondering where he is now. Of course I was upset that he just left completely out of the blue with no warning, but I think that I was oblivious to the things that were wrong when I was younger. There was a big story behind all of it, I didn't know what it was though. I never bothered to ask.

The words exchanged between my mom and I began to replay in my head. I couldn't believe what had gotten into me. Between the stress of moving and the absence of Michael. I couldn't believe that this boy I had grown so close to was going to be ripped from my hands, not like I already was though. It just eliminates the chance of it ever going back to normal. What made it so difficult for me was that we built up this unbreakable bond; the same that I shared with Lue, Annabel, and Julia, and I just happened to fall head over heels for him.

My thoughts were whisked away by a gust of wind. Even through my layers of clothes, goosebumps managed to cover my skin. I realized I had walked a bit too far and stopped right in my tracks. I kicked a few pebbles with my now dusty shoe and tuned around swiftly. I kept my head low and my hands tangled together in my pocket. I had been walking for only a few feet when I felt rain drizzling on my hair. I looked up at the sky, as if somehow I was looking for water to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. Drop by drop the cold rain fell onto my face. I immediately began to jog towards my car, not wanting to break into a full run and trip over these metal bars nailed into the ground.

I fumbled for the keys in my back pocket as my fingers started to become numb from the rain and temperature mix. I dug them out and stuck them into the lock under the handle. Knowing my luck, I failed to get the keys all the way in and I dropped them into the damp stones, making them harder to find. I squatted down in hopes to get a better view of the ground, but I was in desperate need of light. I kept digging for what felt like hours and eventually found the key ring and pulled them out.

I was soaked though all layers of my clothes, something I was not expecting on this midnight drive. I slid into my leather seat, tugging the soaked hoodie over my head and into the seat next to me. I slumped into my seat out of exasperation. A black figure caught my eye as they walked in front of my car and along the tracks just as I had just finished doing. I was startled by the person suddenly coming into sight, but I was more worried about what they were doing, It was pouring down rain and was almost 1am and they were aimlessly kicking gravel. A slight streak of adrenaline kicked in and I pushed my door open.

"Hey!" I yelled. The figure stopped walking for a brief second then continued on, not even acknowledging my attempt to get their attention. I watched as the person stumbled slightly which only made things more sketchy. I wanted to shut my door and let them be and carry on my way back home, but something in my gut told me to chase after them. "Hello?" I shouted once more. They didn't even stop this time and continued on. I groaned lightly and forced my way out of my car. "Hey wait!" I called over the light thunder.

Even after every step closer I took towards them I still couldn't manage to make out who they were. It was obviously a man, as their baggy clothes over their tall and thin body and hood yanked over their head told me so. I was almost caught up to him when my headlights went out. I had completely forgotten I had left them on this whole time and that they were timed. I panicked slightly as my vision adjusted to the dark and I noticed the man had stopped. He hadn't moved or turned around. He stayed in his same spot, but swayed slightly from time to time.

"Are you okay?" I asked through heavy breaths. The rain was pouring down and made my hearing ability drop down too low to actually be able to listen unless we were inches away. He finally turned around and I was relieved that I was able to see his face, or so I thought I would be able to. The mix of it being nighttime and the rain made his face completely shadowed over. I gulped as he stepped closer to me. He wobbled lightly, as if he had just gotten up from his legs being asleep.

He mumbled something I wasn't able to make out. As he came only a few feet from me I looked away from him, not wanting to make any type of eye contact. I stayed put in as I tensed in slight fear. Just as I thought before, he was only inches from my face. I kept my eyes glued to the ground in attempt to not greet the stranger this close. His breathing was uneven beside me which made mine speed up. I was able to smell a familiar scent of alcohol on his breath. I hadn't remembered where I had tasted it before, but I knew the bitter smell. In the moment I wasn't able to put a finger on it as I was more worried about my own safety now.

"It's a little late for a pretty little girl like you to be out here." I snapped my head right in the direction of his voice. At the same moment he pulled me tightly to his chest and it all pieced together. "Why don't you come with me?" He slurred. His lips curled into the half smile I had fallen in love with.

"Michael." I whispered. I kept my eyes off of him, knowing this was all too wrong.

"When did I tell you my name?" He giggled, followed by a hiccup. I built up my courage and finally looked him right in the eye. His smile dropped immediately and his eyes became noticeably clearer. "Maddie?" He tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why are you out here?" I bluntly asked. He picked his head back up, not breaking eye contact with me.

"To come find you." He said slowly, managing to pull his speech together. I put my hands over his chest and pushed him back slightly, which still caused him to stumble.

"You've been drinking." He chose not to reply, and simply rocked back and forth on his heels. He went back a bit too far, catching his balance off guard. He began stumbling backwards and I caught a grip of his arm before he was able to fall. "A lot." I scolded.

I couldn't process what was happening, it was all to...weird. I didn't know how he got down here, or why he was down here. And out of all of the people, why Michael? I had never seen him in this state before. I've seen him drunk before, but not like this. He was usually loud a bubbly and funny, but now he looked dark and his eyes drooped as if he hadn't slept for the past 3 days. I knew that if he was sober, he would've taken off in the other direction, but I felt as if this just wasn't the time to leave him. He honestly looked like a wreck. His face wasn't naturally flushed anymore and his eyes were more gray than I had remembered. His touch wasn't the warm I remembered.

I slung his arm around my own shoulder and steadied him. It had reminded me of the first party of the summer at Ashton's when he was tripping over his own feet, but in a giddy way. Not anything like this.

"I'm guessing you didn't drive here so I'm going to take you home, alright?" I sighed at my own offer, as I didn't know how a long car ride in the rain and night with a wasted Michael would turn out. He nodded his head quickly, reminding me of his child-like behavior. He leaned onto me, making the gravel path harder to walk in. I didn't say anything about it though, I figured he had enough trouble himself. I helped him into the passenger side of the car, moving my wet clothes from the leather. I hurried over to my side and shut my door briefly after.

I let out a big sigh of relief, or at least that's what I thought it was. I switched my focus to Michael, which I jumped at since I hadn't realized he was resting over the arm rests in the middle. One of his elbows supported the hand that his head was buried in. He had a mischievous smile along his mouth, but his eyes were indicating that he was exhausted. I glanced back through my windshield as I started my car back up.

"You look pretty." He muttered. I instantly felt the blood rush to my cheeks. The mixture of my damp clothes sticking to me and the new warm heat blowing on my from the vents caused a rush of blood throughout my whole body. I looked in my rear view mirror as I attempted to back up to get around the road.

"I'm soaking wet and I have no makeup on. Thanks for trying though." I plainly said, not used to his compliments again. He kept quiet for the rest of the ride. It had managed to be the same silence that we used to share that was comforting. He kept shifting in his seat in an attempt to get adjusted in his clothes that were clinging to every aspect of his body. I kept glancing over to him every few minutes, just to make sure he hadn't passed out or to make sure that he wasn't going to throw up in my car.

I entered the gate code to his home and slowly made my way down his driveway. I stopped right in front of the garage and turned my car off. He unbuckled his seat belt yet stayed put. I didn't question his motive, as he was probably just beginning to realize what was going on.

"Can you help me out so I don't eat shit?" He shyly asked. I shook my head at his silly question, but exited out without thinking for a second more. I walked around the hood of my car and opened his door. I put out my hand in an attempt to help him out. He reached out, but instead of me pulling him out he pulled me in. He yanked me onto his lap. I was straddling him as I became face to face with him. He smirked once at the position he put me into then began to lean in towards me. I pulled my head back, not wanting to do this while he was completely gone.

"What's wrong?" He mumbled against my neck. I swatted him from my neck before he actually even touched me and regained myself.

"You're not even slightly sober, Michael."

"I'm sober enough."

"You really think that?" I shot back.

"I know that." He grinned. "I know that you're name is Maddie Grace and that you like reading books and when I draw little circles on your hips." I stiffened at the thought of our old relationship and how much I yearned for it back. He paused before looking right back into my eyes.

"I also know that I love you."