#ahhhh i havent wrote in soooo long and i really liked this piece!!!!

[nevalizona]

Stranded.

Pardon any errors.

"Are you fucking kidding me? How many goddamn days did you just say?" John hissed into the phone. He was pacing back and forth twisting himself all around in the cord.

Ivy Nicole and Connor were sitting on a worn bench, waiting. John's car broke down while they were driving back to New Bordeaux. Connor tried his best to fix it, but the poor thing is shot. Connor smoked a cigarette as he watched John, eyes following him, back and forth. This is amusing to him. Next to him is Ivy Nicole. She parked herself there after John got a bit snippy with her. Now she's trying to stay out of his way.

"How long do you think we'll be stranded here?" Connor asked, smile slipping onto his face before taking another drag.

Ivy Nicole shrugged.

"He seems way too angry. So maybe three days." She looked over at Connor and waited to see what he would say.

"Three days? That's cute. I think we're looking at five. Johnny can blow a fuse over anything, but this, this is real anger. I told him this hick town wouldn't have what he needed." Connor shook his head, reaching his cigarette over to Ivy Nicole. She looked at it for a couple of seconds before grabbing it and taking a drag.

"I hope I have enough clothes." Ivy Nicole said absently, eyebrows pinched together as she looked at the floor, his cigarette still between her fingers.

"They probably have a shitty laundry room you could use. But really, you should have packed enough." Connor looked over at her, smile no longer present on his face. He didn't seem angry. Didn't seem upset. He's just there.

"Oh, I hope so! And I did pack enough... for the trip we had planned. Not this." Ivy Nicole passed him back the cigarette as she talked.

He slipped it back between his lips and shrugged.

"You'll make do." He said around the cigarette, using his hands to pat his shirt pocket and pant pocket.

"Do me a favor,' he grabbed Ivy Nicole by the arm to get her attention. 'Go up to our room and see if I left my pack of smokes up there." He didn't necessarily ask, and Ivy Nicole didn't want to argue. She sighed and got up, dragging her feet out the door of the rickety old lobby and up the shitty staircase to their room.

Right as she realized she didn't have the key to get in, the front doors of the lobby opened.

"Ivy! Come get the key!" Connor called from downstairs.

"Nicole!!!! Ivy Nicole is my name!" She whined, leaning over the rail so she could look at him.

He rolled his eyes.

"Fine, Ivy Nicole, here." He tossed her the key, and she reached for it, but it slipped out of her hands and landed on the floor.

"Shit." She grumbled, bending over to grab the key.

"Nice catch, Ivy!" He said sarcastically. She didn't have to look at him to know he had that dumb grin on his face.

"Nicole!" Was all she could say back. She grumbled about how much of an asshole he was as she unlocked the door and walked into the musty, dusty room. The door slammed behind her. She flicked on the light, which casted everything in a sickly yellow sheen.

She went over to the bed that Connor was occupying. Him and John shared a bed, and Ivy Nicole got one on her own. The perks of being the only girl on a trip with boys. She moved Connor’s bag around and poked at John's. Neither were concealing the pack of cigarettes. Ivy Nicole peeked around the floor of the bed to make sure it didn't fall. While doing so, she realized Connor had certainly dropped something. It was a hefty pocket knife. He's clearly had it for a while. He's the exact kind of guy that would carry something like this around. He probably wouldn't want to lose it. She tucked it away in her pocket and continued looking for the cigarettes.

Finally, she found them. They were set on the bathroom counter. He must've set it there after he tucked a cigarette behind his ear. Knowing he would want more than the one he grabbed, but maybe not wanting the pack. Or simply, because he forgot it. Ivy Nicole over thinks these kinds of things anyway.

When she got back down to the lobby, John and had sat in Ivy Nicole's spot. He bickered to Connor, whose eyes seemed to have lit up when he noticed she was carrying his smokes.

"Great, Johnny just ran out and won't quit bitching about it. Thanks, Ivy." Connor said as she passed him the pack.

"Nicole. I also found this. It was kinda under the bed. Didn't want you to lose it." Ivy Nicole said as she grabbed his pocket knife out of her pocket. Feeling semi-selfconscious about how warm it felt.

A smile spread across his face.

"Thank you. I would have hate to have lost it. I've had it forever. I'll have to tell you about some of the trouble I've gotten into with it. Thanks again." They locked eyes, and Ivy Nicole felt warm. Important, if only for that second. She did a good thing, and that good thing made someone really happy. Maybe she has worth after all. She sat on an old chair across from, feeling content.