Kalmin was out the door in an instant when he heard the first two honks of Deimos’ old rusted truck. Mira was halfway out the door waving excitedly at him, Raven over the seat honking crazily at the wheel with Deimos shouting obscenities at her. His trunk was overflowing with supplies, glittering in the sun with vibrant ropes holding down all the bags and tables and boards in the world. It was more like they were moving away than going on a week-long vacation. After Deimos shoved Raven out of the front seats, he got out and helped Kalmin throw his large bag into the trunk. There was just enough space for his gear.

“Ready for the most annoying week in your life?” Deimos joked as he tied his bag down. Kalmin laughed and leaned against his truck.

“I’m ready for something, not sure if it’s going to be annoying,” he chuckled.

Deimos rolled his eyes. “I thought Raven honking and waking up half your neighbourhood was an obvious hint.”

Kalmin snickered. With a soft hop, Deimos jumped down from his trunk beside him. Both of them grinned at each other.

“How long is the drive?” Kalmin asked. Deimos rubbed his neck and hummed.

“Six hours,” he said, but Kalmin wasn’t paying attention anymore.

Deimos’ neck.

He wasn’t subtle with the fact that he had red hickeys all over his neck.

The sight of redness peeking from under his white shirt took him aback. Suddenly, Kalmin couldn’t hear anything. He just…stared at the red hickeys. They were velvet red flowers that bloomed against his bronze skin. They were a sign.

Mira made those.

There was no way around that. Mira made those deep red marks. And they…looked obsessive. Deimos was Mira’s. Those love marks were clear evidence of it. Deimos played with the collar of his shirt, Kalmin watching every twitch of his fingers as he’d tug on it ever so slightly to reveal more and more love marks from Mira. His face burned up at the sight of them.

“Kalmin?” Deimos said suddenly.

Immediately, his eyes clicked to Deimos’ lips and he froze up.

“Sorry,” he said quickly. “I wasn’t listening.”

“Tired?”

He chuckled and shrugged. “A bit.”

“You can sleep for most of the ride.” Deimos patted his back. “If you can get Raven to stop…being Raven.”

Kalmin laughed and elbowed him playfully. “Rude.”

Deimos smiled and elbowed him back. “Rude,” he repeated with more sass.

Inside Deimos’ truck was just as messy as the outside. It wasn’t because Deimos was a slob, god he was far from it, but it was ripe full of plastic bags full of treats and snacks for on the road. There was even a pack of coolers shoved under Deimos’ seat.

“Hey there,” Raven greeted him as he slid into the backseat beside them. Pillows separated them. Mira and Deimos were laughing in the front, Mira fiddling with the AUX cord while Deimos started up the engine again. Kalmin froze up a second time, this time because of Mira. She had dark red love marks as well. The crop top she wore revealed even more, red marks down her back and shoulders. It all screamed the same obsession, and it hit him even more this time because…

Because?

“You’re staring,” Raven whispered. Kalmin flinched and shot a panicked look at her and she just sneered. She leaned against the various pillows stacked up and shot a look at Deimos and Mira. “Those idiots probably went at it all night.”

Kalmin felt his face burn. “U-Uh.”

Raven rolled her eyes. “You like them?”

“N-No!” He hissed.

“Good, because those dorks are inseparable,” she laughed. “The hickeys just scream, ‘I love her/him, don’t even fucking try dude.’”

“Subtle,” he commented.

“Swimming fun times are going to be great for us singles.”

God, the sight of Deimos and Mira in swimwear made him burn. Especially since there would definitely be obsessive marks in certain places. He sunk into his seat, sighing softly.

“Thanks for making it worse,” he murmured.

“Welcome.”

Kalmin didn’t know why he was so…affected to Deimos and Mira’s hickeys. They were two consenting adults who had a healthy, sexual and romantic relationship. He was glad Mira had Deimos, and Deimos had Mira. They were perfect for each other. But this weird feeling washed over him. Was it jealousy? No, it can’t fucking be it. Kalmin barely knew them. But maybe it was that. He barely knew them and this new revelation that they…loved each other made him feel weird. As if they were hiding a secret that they definitely not hiding. It was fucked up. It was super fucked up thinking that way. But…Kalmin liked both of them. He liked Mira’s art and Deimos’ company. He liked how Mira talked about colours so happily and he liked the way Deimos laughed. Sitting with both of them in Mira’s garage chatting about colours made Kalmin believe he was on the same wavelength as them. It was odd, he liked their company a lot.

For a while, Kalmin ended up spacing out and staring out the window, an internal conflict battling inside of him. Half of him was…weirded out with their love marks and the other was angry at that half for being a dick. Neither side was really right, and he just ended up ignoring his road trip mates as they sang to shitty pop tunes. The cityscape turned to green and roads molded into one stretching highway. Suddenly, Mira turned around and faced him.

“We’re making a quick pit stop before we drive for an hour, want anything at the gas station?” She chirped.

Kalmin blinked and avoided her stare. “Um…maybe a chocolate milk?”

“That’s adorable,” Raven commented softly. He blushed and sunk into his chair.

Mira rolled her eyes to her comment. “Anything else? There’s a Tim Hortons over there.”

“Maybe a cheese bagel with butter and a vanilla dip donut then,” he said shyly. She was probably paying for it and it made Kalmin’s stomach twist.

“Got it,” she replied happily. She twisted back into her seat, facing the long glimmering highway and fiddled with her phone. “Any tunes you wanna listen to?”

Not really. He forgot to pay attention. “No, I like the cute music you’re playing,” he murmured.

“I think it’s too indie, play Life is a Highway,” Raven shouted back. She sneered while Mira shot her a blank look. However, she still played it and everyone sang beautifully (not) to the chorus. Incredibly, Mira and Raven knew all the lyrics and explained to the two clueless boys the incredible grade eleven road trip they had when Sophie got her driver’s license. There was a lot of hiding under seats shenanigans and lying about being relatives. Apparently waterfalls and alcoholism was involved and summertime flings.

Kalmin chuckled for most of their crazy story, but Deimos was in tears, leaning against the wheel laughing hard at Mira and Raven’s dramatic retelling of how a small town boy tried to woo their group with his old guitar and this particular song. And how both of them saw Dani naked for the first time. Deimos had a cute laugh. It was stupidly sweet.

Eventually after a few more rounds of songs, they turned the first right turn in an hour to a quick pit stop equipped with a gas station, a few restaurants, Tim Hortons and a small gift shop. Sophie and Daniel’s cars were already parked in the gas station, and with the windows down, Kalmin could hear them blasting a song that slammed childhood memories and nostalgia at him.

“I love the mountains, I love the clear blue skies~”

“Oh my god, these fucking dorks,” Mira blurted out when they pulled up beside them.

“What the fuck,” Deimos laughed.

“I love the whole world, and all its sights and sounds!” Their huge group of young adults sang happily. “Boom de yada, boom de yada, BOOM DE YADA, BOOM DE YADA!”

Their truck joined in and it was a fucking surreal experience. Kalmin laughed too hard at this bizarre sight of nineteen/twenty year olds screaming out an old Discovery commercial song. The gas station workers were fucking loving it, howling at the song and adult-sized children that screamed it.

After the song ended with a horrifically beautiful harmony, they got applause from passerbys and the gas station workers.

“This trip is starting out great,” Mira laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes. “God, why am I friends with so many losers.”

“This is hilarious,” Kalmin giggled. Deimos hopped out to refill his tank and slap Annie on the back for starting this insanity while Mira slid out to make a Tim Hortons run. However, Kalmin caught her beforehand and decided to join her to make it easy to bring all the drinks and breakfast. She was flustered by it and rubbed her neck nervously. Kalmin tried to ignore the obsessive marks on her skin. She was more than that. She was…fun. Creative. Familiar.

“Hey, guess what,” Mira beamed while they stood in line. It was pretty crowded for being a pit stop.

“What?” Kalmin smiled. Her grins were infectious.

“My mom bought me a polaroid camera,” she chirped. “So get ready for a lot of photos.”

“Going to start an art project?”

She hummed. “Don’t know yet.”

They put their conversation on hold to order a long list of treats and drinks at the cash, and resumed it at the second counter as they waited for their drinks.

“I really liked your Muse project with Deimos,” he commented politely. “The one with the polaroid-like photos and colour titles.”

Mira looked up at him surprised. “You knew about the Muse project?”

He made a face. “Well, yeah of course, that was the first time I noticed you. Gabriel forced Aaron and me to come.”

She laughed. “Did we talk?”

“No, you were pretty busy enough.”

Mira gnawed on her lip, thinking pensively for a moment. “Wait, were you the cute guy in the blue suit?”

Kalmin blinked. “Cute guy?” He repeated.

She smirked and elbowed him playfully. “You heard me.”

“You think I’m cute?” He joked.

“Yes, you dork.” She rolled her eyes. They joked and bantered until their drinks arrived, Mira hip bumping him playfully on their way out. When they arrived back to the truck, Raven was in the front pestering Deimos. Annie was sitting on the hood of his truck with her wide and dramatic sunglasses, watching the couple approach.

“There’s a greenery on the way to our destination, wanna check it out?” She asked when Mira arrived. Raven stuck her hand out desperately for her iced lemonade and Kalmin plucked it out for her.

“Sure,” Mira said. The others nodded. Annie slid off the truck and patted it softly, smiling at Mira and then glancing curiously at Kalmin beside her. In only a split second, the two of them had an hour long conversation that left Mira blushing and chuckling. Kalmin’s stomach twisted a little, curious on what the two of them just communicated. It was hard being left in the dark.

As the designated drink tray carrier, Kalmin passed Mira her drink and walked over to Deimos’ car to pass him his iced coffee. When Deimos turned around to accept his drink, he was wearing blue sunglasses that were way too small for his face. Kalmin burst out laughing at the sheer sight of this serious-looking model with absurd kid sunglasses. Deimos’ lips stretched into a glimmering smile and he chuckled softly. Raven was roaring beside Deimos, only fueling Kalmin’s amusement further.

“You look fucking ridiculous,” Kalmin wheezed. His stomach hurt from laughing.

Deimos just smiled at him nonchalantly and sipped at his iced drink. “I’m ready for speed.”

“You fucking meme,” Mira snorted, walking around the truck to see all the commotion.

“Where did you even find those?” Kalmin wiped the tears from his face.

“They’re my little brother’s,” Raven commented.

“They’ll fall off if I try to move my head,” Deimos added.

Mira gave Kalmin an amused look and opened the back door to slide into the back. Kalmin followed her, Raven rummaging around to eventually turn back to have another pair of kid glasses that were purple this time. Kalmin and Mira burst out laughing and Deimos started up the car. He swerved beside Daniel’s car and flaunted their new fashion statement. Annie died in the passenger seat and Daniel honked loudly at them. Deimos beat him though in sheer volume with his horn. Then they sped off, following Sophie’s minivan on the highway. Raven’s music choice was way more amusing to listen to, from absurd rap songs to straight up meme music. She played Careless Whisper three times until Deimos threatened her seat to be revoked.

“I vote Kalmin to sit in shotgun next time,” Deimos commented as they passed through the mountains. Kalmin and Mira ended up leaning against each other, staring at the beautiful view. Kalmin perked up to his name and eyes from the rear view mirror staring at him.

“What’s wrong with me?” Mira commented.

“You’re the only one who can restrain your best friend,” he replied back.

“Touché,” Mira laughed. Kalmin smiled at them and sighed. Mira rested back against his chest, eyes droopy and distant. The two of them gave up on seat belts. You either had to be safe or comfortable, not both. They rearranged the back so the extra pillows separating the seats were in use and blankets were wrapped around their legs. Mira was basically in his lap at this point, his chest a pillow as they draped across the three back seats with their shoes off. It’s been an hour through the six hour trip and the both of them have been fully acclimated in the back. Kalmin didn’t even notice their intimacy until Deimos’ stare lingered long than expected in the rear view mirror. He felt his face flare up. He didn’t know what Deimos felt about his girlfriend cozying up with another man. If it was him, he’d be furiously jealous, but Deimos just blinked and smiled at him softly before returning his stare at the vast expanse of forestry and mountain cliffs.