#dmv fall

[realtorjamier]

Best Places Around the Area to See Fall Foliage!

Autumn’s natural glory will soon be ablaze with color, making it a great time to plan your leaf-peeping. Mid-October is generally the best time to start seeking out fall foliage, and the colors can continue well into November. For an animated map showing the progression of color across the U.S., check out this online illustration from The Farmer’s Almanac.

So where should you go locally to experience autumn at its finest? Here we offer some of the best spots in the DMV for photographing fall scenery – whether it’s for dynamic social media posts, placing your pictures in a frame, or just taking snapshots with your mind.

Tidal Basin

Washington, D.C.

Spanning 107 acres, but just 10 feet deep, the Tidal Basin is well known for its lovely cherry blossoms in the spring, but in the fall these same trees turn a beautiful orange and gold! Enjoy a stroll around an easy two-mile loop.

Theodore Roosevelt Island

George Washington Memorial Parkway Arlington, VA

A two-mile path follows the island’s shore, moving into the swamp and tidal inlet where nature frames views of Washington, D.C. Buy the book “Finding Solace at Theodore Roosevelt Island” by Melanie Choukas-Bradley for an even more meaningful meander.

State Arboretum of Virginia

Blandy Experimental Farm Boyce, VA

Virginia’s State Arboretum spans 172 acres of tree and shrub collections dating back to the early 1930s. You can also experience the glorious golden 300 tree Ginkgo grove every fall.

Georgetown’s Cobblestone neighborhoods

Georgetown, D.C.

Georgetown is renowned for federalist architecture, cobblestone streets, and historic brick and frame row houses, some of which date to the mid-1700s. It’s also an origination point for the historic C & O Canal, a National Park which runs 184.5 miles into Cumberland, Md. Enjoy a fall stroll and consider taking a guided tour.

Rock Creek Park

Washington, D.C.

Created in 1890, Rock Creek Park is the oldest urban park in the National Park Service. Its 1,754 acres generally follows the Potomac River tributary of Rock Creek and includes a golf course, equestrian trails, an amphitheater, and picnic and playground facilities. It also includes Peirce Mill, a water-powered grist mill built in the 1820s.

Seneca Creek State Park

Gaithersburg, MD

More than 50 miles of trails wind through a variety of habitat, including the 90-acre Clopper Lake. A restored 19th-century cabin adds charm to your fall photographs.

Great Falls Park

McLean, VA

Three overlooks within a short walk front the Great Falls Park Virginia Visitor Center allow for spectacular scenery. Two of the overlooks are handicap and stroller accessible.

Great Falls Park

Potomac, MD

Visit the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center on the Maryland side of Great Falls Park, located at mile 14.3 along the C&O Canal towpath in Montgomery County, Md.  

Shenandoah National Park

Luray, VA

Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Va., the park stretches 105 miles from the northern entrance in Front Royal to the southern entrance near Waynesboro. Skyline Drive is the main road running the span of the park – a scenic byway that can get especially busy during peak leaf-peeping times. 

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Harpers Ferry, WV

Almost Heaven, but just a hop, skip, and a jump from the D.C. Metro area, Harpers Ferry is a time capsule nestled in the Blue Ridge mountains where the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers come together and continue eastward to the Chesapeake Bay as the Potomac river. Unfortunately, this fall’s rockslide stabilization project will make the travel to Harpers Ferry a bit tricky, so check your options online or through your favorite phone app.

South Mountain State Park

Boonsboro, MD

This 40-mile park weaves along South Mountain Ridge. Visitors can walk the same paths as the Civil War soldiers who fought at the 1862 Battle of South Mountain, climbing to enjoy breathtaking views. 

Rappahannock River Heritage Trail

Fredericksburg, VA

This paved pathway makes for an easy walk, but don’t let the pavement fool you – beautiful views of the Rappahannock River, Old Mill Park, and several historic mills are seen throughout the trail.

[badwaves]

fiddleford has top billing on the roadkill county DMV's equivalent of a shoplifter wall of shame

[erikahenningsen]

49 for cadina

49. “Who hurt you?”

Regina is a few minutes away from the school when she spots someone sitting by the side of the road.

She's about to swerve and give them a wide berth as she passes, until she sees who it is, and she slams on her brakes instead.

It's Cady.

Cady looks up as Regina screeches to a halt, her face streaked with tears. Regina feels her breath get shallow as anxiety rises in her chest. She smacks the hazard light button and climbs out of the car.

"Cady? Are you okay?" Regina crouches down next to Cady and scans her face. Aside from some smeared mascara and red eyes, she seems mostly okay.

"I'm fine," Cady says, sniffling.

Regina sees Cady is clutching her knee, the skin scraped raw, and Regina sees red.

"Who hurt you? Who did this?" she growls, her vision almost blurring with how quickly her anger rushes through her.

"What? No one," Cady says, looking confused.

"Who, Cady?" Regina asks again, more urgently, gripping Cady's shoulders. Cady's head bobs a little with the motion. "I'll kill them right now. Nobody will find the body."

"Regina! Nobody hurt me," Cady insists. "I fell off my bike." She points a few feet behind her, where there is indeed a bike lying on its side in some bushes.

All of Regina's anger drains out of her body at once, like someone pulled a plug. Cady is okay, she repeats to herself.

"Sorry," Regina says, feeling a little embarrassed at her overreaction. "I just saw you crying by the side of the road, and..." She trails off.

"Well, it hurt." Cady turns her palms up, and they're scraped, too.

"Yeah, I bet it does." Regina fishes in her purse for some tissues, presses one to Cady's bleeding knee. "Where's your helmet?"

Cady shrugs. "I forgot it."

"You were riding your bike without a helmet?!"

"What are you, my mom?"

"No, but I'll tell your mom," Regina threatens, and when Cady's eyes widen she waves a hand. "Kidding, kidding."

"Thanks," Cady says, smiling a little, and Regina brushes a lock of red hair out of Cady's face without thinking, barely resisting the urge to cup Cady's face and brush the tears away with her thumbs. "And thanks for, you know, offering to kill someone for me."

"Of course I would," Regina says. "Isn't that what friendship is?"

Cady laughs and gives Regina a smile—Regina's favorite smile of Cady's, the one that feels like it's just for her, affectionate and fond and intimate, crinkling the corners of her eyes. The smile that always makes Regina smile reflexively back, the one that makes her heart beat a little faster.

"Come on," Regina says, standing and offering Cady a hand. Then she remembers that Cady's hands and scraped and gross, so Regina just kind of hauls her up by the arms. "I'm driving you home."

"But what about my bike?" Cady asks.

"Someone can come back for it later," Regina says, opening the passenger door for Cady. "But I think this is a sign you should retire that thing. How many times have you crashed it now?"

"I'm getting better," Cady insists.

"Lord save us all when you start driving," Regina says as she buckles herself in.

Cady pouts and crosses her arms, so Regina reaches over and squeezes Cady's leg. Cady looks a little startled, and Regina realizes how high up on Cady's though her hand is, and she quickly brings it back to the steering wheel, her palm burning from the contact.

Driving Cady around might be better for Cady's safety, but definitely not for Regina's own sanity.

[deadweight-at7am]

Beautiful fall foliage

[warsrage]

freya is so remarkably good at retaining her composure and courtly manners even in the most dire or frustrating of circumstances, so naturally, the dynamic I’m craving most for her recently is someone who makes her lose that composure not just once, but on a fairly regular basis, because it is simply so rare to see. certainly does not have to be shippy but it would be potentially spicy if it was.

[angered-box]

its gonna be. awhile before i can play ffxiv again urgh (<- stilldoesn't have a bank account or anything required for applying for a job)

[killjoygem]

Do you think anyone ever noticed that stan's license plate seems to be a shortened version of Stanley. Or do you think it just didn't click to anyone that it meant something since they don't know that name

[worm-person]

i have to send my license plate to my new apt complex but i cant until I get my registration renewed but I cant until I get a smog check

[effervescentdragon]

the funniest thing in blacklist us how the only person who absolutely unsettles reddington and makes him a bit insane in bewilderment is glen

[jeinous]

November Rain…

Well, here we are. Working hard, or hardly working. Lol. It’s only Wednesday, and we’ve already waited an unnecessary amount of time at the DMV (not for myself, and not the friendly DMV of visits past, but the one where everyone’s in a bad mood, angry and slightly aggressive like in the movies). I’ve also called the IRS multiple times (it’s an absolute disaster, but who wants to hear about that, amiright), and waited on hold/for callbacks. We’ve also had a few meltdowns, 3am panic parties & currently chewing myself out because I didn’t get a chance to clear the little gutters on the floor outside, and they flood when it rains. And guess what!? It’s raining, woohoo (just kidding, not woohoo)! And do you know what’s a horrible game? The one I made up called, “Is that just the sound of rain or is that a leak?”. Oh yes, the winning guess ‘prizes’ are amazing (just kidding). Almost as ritzy as the prizes from my other favorite game, “There’s a snake outside, how do we get rid of it?”..first & second place winners get a lovely night of nightmares, 3rd prize wins a big jug of white cinnamon blend powder they get to sprinkle on every single thing out front. Lucky for me, I won 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, yippeaa (not really yippeaa)! Lastly, my lovely assistant Ginger🐶🐾here, was on food strike and licking her feet (and blanket, and nonstop stretching?) all night so that was super fun (jk), and stressful. On the bright (and probably crazy) side, I went back to the market at 9pm last night to grab Dunkin’ Pumpkin Cinnamon Goldfish (yes, the kid’s snack) for .50cents so at least I have something to look forward to tonight, lol. Yay for snackie snacks!

Ok, bye-bye from me and Gingy🐩

[drdemonprince]

I have almost no energy to move or to think. My eyes hurt. My head hurts. I’m constantly on the verge of puking. The room is spinning. Normally bouncing off the walls with the desire to exercise, try new things, and socialize, all I want to do is sit silently in the dark. I am incapacitated, in an inescapable way, by the demands of full-time work. I had forgotten for a while that I am so profoundly disabled, because I have been able to build a life around my natural rhythms and my inarguable sensitivities. But for just one week, I’ve been thrust back into approximating something of a “normal” working life, and I can’t handle it. Not even remotely. If I were to live by this schedule all of the time, if necessity forced me to work an actual full-time job with real, in-person, full-time hours, I would have zero energy for meal preparation, physical fitness, social outings, on-the-ground activism, or any of the random adventures that make life so worthwhile. In my schedule I’d scarcely find the time for doctor’s visits, tooth cleanings, trips to the DMV, birthday parties, conferences, runs to the post office, or any of the other small journeys that make it possible for supposedly “independent” adult life to run. My health, my relationships, my community, and my grounding in reality would dramatically collapse.

Working full-time is a sickness. And not just for especially sensitive people like me. The friends I know with full-time jobs are tired nearly all the time, and have had to give up on so many of their passions and fulfilling pursuits. Over the years some full-time workers I know have become a bit dull-eyed and distant, no passion in their voice, a ghost of their younger selves. They assume it is because they are growing “old,” but I’m older than many of them, and many people older than me are similarly able to bounce off the walls. We have energy if we get enough sleep, if we eat robustly and eagerly, and if life is filled with shared wanderings that we can look forward to. We need repetition, and comfort, and rest, but also ample space to dream, and the power to bring some of those dreams into reality. So many people under capitalism lack all of those things. Their jobs are a chronic illness they must cradle, manage, and make endless sacrifices for every single day. There is so much they can’t do. They don’t go on dates with their spouses because they’re falling asleep at 8pm. They’re behind on doctor’s appointments and haven’t visited their siblings for years. They’re too weak and weary to travel, to volunteer, to meet anybody new. All they have it in them to do at the end of the day is collapse in front of something familiar on the TV. And it is so normal that nobody even considers it a sickness.

The full essay is free to read or have narrated to you at drdevonprice.substack.com.

[rafesangelita]

hi victoria!! you're my favorite writer. i just failed a test and i feel really bad about it 😿😿 i was wondering if you could do a rafe comforting kook!sweetheart that she failed a test? thank youu 🤍🤍

warnings: bsf!rafe, reader fails her driving test (she’s me), comfort, fluff, slight humor, pet names

a/n: decided to make this a semi continuation of this fic lol. i’m not sure what kind of test you failed anon but don’t beat yourself up over it! we’re all human and it happens to the best of us :( thank you for reading and appreciating my works <3

“so what do you think?” your hands were on your hips, your hair falling cutely in your face as you beamed up at rafe. you had just explained to him why you wanted to get your driver’s license, saying; ‘what if i want to go shopping or something while you’re working with your dad? i could take myself to the mall.’ you had looked so excited, so without discouraging you, rafe went along with the whole thing.

“you know what? that’s a great idea, babe. do you know how to set up the appointment?” you nodded frantically, following him into his bedroom. “yeah, i go in tomorrow!” thankfully you were behind the poor man so you couldn’t see his eyes widen with worry. “tomorrow?!” he watched the way your smile faltered at his tone. rafe made a quick recovery, pulling you in for a hug as he cheered you on.

“you’re gonna kill it.. literally.” you pulled away, muttering a ‘what was that?’ before you forgot about the subject and started rambling on and on about what outfit you should wear to the dmv. after convincing you that heels wouldn’t be the best shoe to wear for your test, rafe found himself waiting in the office with you the next morning. “does my makeup look okay?” you fluttered your eyelashes at him.

“yes, you look perfect-” just then, an older man with glasses and a clipboard called out your name. “well, that’s me..” you got up, rafe squeezing your hand before he watched you go outside with the test proctor. he waited patiently, his eyes fixed on the tv screen in the corner of of the waiting room. not even ten minutes later, you had walked back in, a mortified expression on your face.

“what’s wrong? you forget something?” you shook your head, your eyebrows drawn together as you approached him with a pout. “no. can we just leave, please?” rafe got up, wrapping an arm around your shoulders before the test proctor came back. “you’ll be driving that one around for a while.” he laughed to himself, making his way to the back. that wasn’t good…

“what happened?” rafe asked once you two were back in his truck. “the test starts with parallel parking.” at your words, rafe refrained from laughing. “oh..” he nodded, “i’m assuming he stopped the test right then and there?” you stayed silent for a moment. “yes.” rafe took a deep breath before facing you. “don’t even worry about it, baby. that just means we need to practice more.” he reassured you.

“rafe it was so bad. when he asked me to start, i just thought about last time when i couldn’t even park in one slot..” rafe couldn’t help himself anymore, a laugh bubbling from his throat. “s’not funny!” you elbowed him playfully. “alright, alright, i’m sorry.” he apologized. “how about we grab some breakfast? it’ll make you feel better.” he leaned in, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear.

“okay..” you agreed, “you know what else would make me feel better?” rafe hummed, starting up the engine. “three orgasms and a shopping spree.”

[wdcgardener]

After Halloween, the neighborhood’s carved pumpkins are dropped off and gathered at the @ckcfarming for group nighttime light display then they are composted for use at the urban farm. #gardendc #dmv #pumpkins #fall #compost #urbangarden #citygarden #pumpkincomposting #picoftheday #nofilter #silverspring (at Koiner Farm) https://www.instagram.com/p/CllvdUnuLPt/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[incorrectbatfam]

Have you seen the Good Place? If so what's everyone's personal Good, Bad, and Medium places?

Dick

Good: a big top show with his family and friends in the front row

Bad: getting placed back in his old foster home

Medium: the DMV

Jason

Good: an endless library with every book he could ever want

Bad: a warehouse in Ethiopia

Medium: being a Reddit mod

Tim

Good: a redo of his teenage years with his friends beside him

Bad: being stuck at home home alone and only receiving the occasional postcard

Medium: eating at Red Robin

Damian

Good: an animal sanctuary over a picturesque landscape

Bad: the League of Assassins

Medium: a Chuck-E-Cheese birthday party

Duke

Good: having his parents back

Bad: constantly running from an unseen force

Medium: binge-watching the entire MCU

Cullen

Good: a pride parade where everyone accepts him as he is

Bad: Catholic school

Medium: a Dave Matthews Band concert

Stephanie

Good: a girls' day with her best friends

Bad: failing at whatever she sets out to do

Medium: an incredibly awkward high school reunion

Cassandra

Good: sleepover and family movie night

Bad: returning to her biological father

Medium: dance practice on newly waxed floors

Barbara

Good: a better sibling dynamic with her brother

Bad: an unknown enemy sneaking past her defenses

Medium: slow Wi-Fi connection when she's doing something important

Harper

Good: knowing her brother is safe and cared for

Bad: a house falling apart faster than she can fix it

Medium: assembling IKEA furniture

Carrie

Good: flying through the city with real Robin wings

Bad: constantly looking after her parents

Medium: 7th grade

Kate

Good: finishing her West Point diploma and being hailed a hero

Bad: wandering the earth with a perpetual sense of uncertainty

Medium: Applebee's happy hour

Helena

Good: bringing down the criminal syndicate responsible for her family

Bad: an unending undercover stint as the bad guys

Medium: only having pineapple on pizza

Luke

Good: a constant win streak as Batwing

Bad: a disapproving lecture from his dad

Medium: a meeting that could've been an email

Bette

Good: not being compared against Nightwing or her other superhero peers

Bad: faceplanting in front of an Olympic stadium crowd

Medium: rush hour traffic with the radio stuck on the Top 40

Alfred

Good: his family under one roof for a nice holiday dinner

Bad: permanently leaving Wayne Manor

Medium: an elderly dating app

Selina

Good: a ball pit of kittens

Bad: trying to break into an impenetrable vault

Medium: trying to make plans with her friends but things keep coming up

Bruce

Good: family reunion with his kids and parents

Bad: always responding to distress calls a second too late

Medium: Margie

[evilminji]

You know one of the purposes of Lining?

Shock Absorption.

If the Zone is the Inter- and EXTRA-Dimensional Lining, connecting, containing, and generally powering all of Multiversal Creation? The Great Primordial Soup? The Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, from which we came and too which we return?

If the Zone itself is basicly the place between Universe, where your soul goes to get washed down, cleaned up, recharged, and sent out to wherever the next random portal takes it? To BECOME whatever you happen to find? An infinte recycler and Multiversal management?

The great metaphorical Yggdrasil, grown far beyond few branches, into an incomprehensible forest of one?

Well!

That kinda changes things! And also nothing! Because it means that those who remain? Are basicly squatting in the DMV's attic. Have built bunkers, under the country's main power generator. They really SHOULD move along. Granted, there is no one to MAKE them... but like...

That's cause no one thought anyone would NEED too?

Lol. Don't they feel silly? Anyway, I'ma put MY house over-! *wander off to go squat in the rafters*

Yeah, the CONCEPTS are native. But those probably just generate naturally. It's all the Souls constantly flowing through. Lots of background Sentience and Memories and such being washed away into the air. But? Then these lil souls were like "yeah, but if THEY get to stay... me too! D:< " "no, you can-" "ME TOO" and then they stopped listening and did what they wanted.

Good thing we have literally infinte amounts of room.

T...there's so MANY, you guys.

But! Not the point here!

*smacks white board* Realities! The Die too sometimes! And get born! A beautiful process, really. You can find Reality Beads if you know When and Where to look, some times. They, OBVIOUSLY, don't last for very long. Since they are basicly just seed universe. The explosive growth takes them almost immediately out of our range of perception, as they Begin.

Foundations of all Life and such.

But good God are they MAGNIFICENT!

However, sometimes? The REVERSE happens. If you find the area of the Zone your in? Is getting... "wavey" is the best way people describe it. Distorted. Fun house mirror. As though your vision has weird wrinkles that are distorting and stretching your view of things? Get Out. FAST.

If it's only SLIGHT? Barely noticeable? You can grab your Lair. IF, and ONLY IF you are NEARBY! If not? Remember. Things can be replaced. YOU? Can not.

Cause that "wavey"-ness? Is the final stage of Realm Entropy. The universe that portion over the Zone is covering and connected too, is all hollowed out. And about to CAVE IN. You DO NOT want to be there when that happens!

Remember! You see "waves"? Fly for three days!

Get to the edge of the affected area then KEEP GOING for a full three days flight. Warn everyone in you path. We stay safe together, guy. Collapses are NO JOKE. People get... well. Let's just say it's NOT a nice way too go.

Knowing this of course? We should all be SAFE right? Respectful if Awed distance from Reality Seeds, run like he'll if "waves"? We Gucci?

.....Sooooorta.

*flips Whiteboard to other side, to reveal a cartoonishly drawn Supervillian labeled "Asshole"*

Behold! A Terrorist!

It's a charged word. Not used lightly. But THESE fuckers? Oh ho ho! THESE fuckers?! "Ooooh~! Look at MEEEEE! I'm gonna play with FORCES I DONT UNDERSTAAAAAAAND! Destabilize my whole funckin UNIVERSE! Kill countless TRILLIONS OF TRILLIONS! Cause life was bad to me personally and I'm mad about it! Wah wah wah!!" ASSHOLES!

These fuckers? Cause Collapses. Blow Outs. Weird Fucked Up Cancerous Real Growths. You ever seen the Cleaners? No? You don't WANT TOO. They are basically eldritch, deep sea, angler fish looking mother fuckers THE SIZE OF SOLAR SYSTEMS. They travel in SCHOOLS.

BIG ONES.

When Realities collapse, they "fall off" as it were. Detach. And have to get recycled. All the countless impurities of Life eaten way to a blank slate. So it too, can start again. Thus the Fish. But! They ALSO eat anything "problematic".

Like tumors. Cancers. Poisoned, Multiversal Threats. Those quote on quote "God Killers".

Yes. Yes this IS part of why you DONT want to be near a Collapsing Reality.

No I WON'T explain how I know.

I DONT WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT.

*smack the board with pointer* pay attention.

Jason Todd. Not! An Asshole. Sexy thighs. Fancy lil hair strip. We all miss him. But! He's off living his "no really, I'm totally alive, guys" hot girl summer or whatever. We are going to respect that! But!!! How did that happen? When he was DEFINITELY Hella dead?

Superboy Prime-y Pants. Who IS an ASSHOLE.

Because THAT fucker? PUNCHED HIS REALITY SO HARD IT NEARLY SHATTERED. Oh, no, I'm sorry! He punched SOMEONE ELSE'S reality! Because he is a tantruming MAN CHILD! And NOW? Now, Your Majesty, that WHOLE ASS Reality is more hair line cracks then border walls! One good shove? It'll cave in. Killing every soul inside.

The Cleaners are ALREADY circling.

It needs to be patched. Immediately. But that's not something normal ghosts can DO. The Zone won't LISTEN to us. Nor allocate the energy for it. The Concepts of Healing? We can't even FIND them.

We need help.

Please help them, King Phantom. You're the only one who CAN.

@hdgnj @babbling-babull @hypewinter @ailithnight @mutable-manifestation @nerdpoe @the-witchhunter

[ninguitar]

୨୧　 𝓛OSING ALL MY INNOCENCE　˒˒　LJ

─── ﹙🎱﹚while cramming in time to have dates together, the two of you go on a bittersweet midnight drive.

pairing. lara raj x f!r genre. fluff wc. 900+ notes. UGH i love lara gosh. i fear this was my ultimate fav fic to write. italics + bolded = lyrics (MASTERLIST.)

now playing ⋆ kiss of life by sade

THE DIM HEADLIGHTS OF THE CAR reflect onto the empty streets of the neighborhood, as lara's hands grip firmly onto steering wheel.

what was initially an excuse to bother none other than your girlfriend, lara raj, turned into a car drive filled with occasional giggles and screams from lara. outside the window was merely silence, the world quiet, and the only sounds heard were the faint, soft buzzing of the engine.

your hand reaches the cassette player you insisted that lara should keep from you—as some sort of memorabilia, of course, before she became far too busy—pushing the "love deluxe" by sade cassette tape into it.

there must have been an angel by my side,

"you always have the best tapes, y'know that?" lara speaks up, a low chuckle escaping her breath, as her hand slightly brushes against yours when it meets the gearshift. and by then, you couldn't help but feel a bit of heat flare to your cheeks and ears by the mere familiar warmth against yours.

your eyes trace over against lara's lips, glancing over at the indian girl's figure. "and you always say that," you giggle, slightly nudging her.

"sue me for thinking my girlfriend's tapes are amazing," lara rolls her eyes, laughs erupting from her throat.

even with her hair tousled, messy hair strands falling onto her face, and a random white, off-the-shoulder graphic tee thrown onto herself, you couldn't help but swoon at her beauty—at the way the gentle glow of street lamps illuminate her face.

in your eyes, lara raj was a goddess—a divinity only to be treated with the utmost care. she was something a person could only dream of—something perfect, almost surreal—though, here she was, in the driver's seat beside you.

something heavenly led me to you.

a smile tugs at the corners of her mouth, "take a picture, won't you? it'll surely last longer," she teases, prodding at your flushed cheeks.

you huff in annoyance, rolling your eyes at her reaction. "focus on the wheel, gosh; don't they teach you that at the dmv?" you retaliate, a giggle escaping your breath.

and despite your efforts to make yourself seem more irritated by lara's snark remarks, you were, instead, allured by her beauty.

"hey! at least i'm not as bad as a driver as megan!" lara scoffs, as you nudge lara's shoulder playfully.

"next time i'm seeing her, i'm telling her you said that," you threaten, a grin playing on your face, as lara dramatically widens her mouth.

"you wouldn't dare!"

and for the next few minutes, all you could focus on was lara; all your thoughts were over consumed by lara.

lara, lara, lara.

without notice, everything becomes silent—both the world, and the two of you. and by then, you realize that soon, you two would have to return to your respective responsibilities—you with school, and lara with her idol life.

you knew this would happen eventually, but it all felt too surreal. your eyes glance over to lara, your gaze softening.

"are you okay?" her gentle, melodic tone breaks your train of thought, as you meekly nod, swallowing a lump in your throat.

"yeah, yeah, i'm fine, lara."

look at the sky,

her eyes flicker to you, brows furrowing, "c'mon, i know you're overthinking; i know you."

a soft, comforting smile tugs at her lips—the kind that made your heart ache and long for her even more. pulling the car over, a sigh drifts from lara's lips. her hand brushes against your flushed cheek, and instinctively, you lean into her touch.

"i know, i know. it just, feels weird without seeing you everyday," you sheepishly admit, your voice so low that it could get lost in the vicious roar of the engine.

sure, you were simply exaggerating your words; you saw lara at least, almost every weekend, but she was your person—the girl you used to see everyday, gossiping every second.

"feels weird for me too, y'know; you're not alone. i sometimes wish i could keep driving until the middle of nowhere—until it's just you and i," lara whispers, her tone laced with sincerity and a sort of softness that made your heart skip, her voice dulcet.

her words hang heavy in the air, as you both lean into the warmth of one-another, the delicate feeling of her knuckles brushing against yours providing you comfort.

inevitably, her lips find your temples, pressing chaste, gentle kisses against it, and in-between each kiss was whispered praise. your chest tightens at the thought of the girl you've loved most being rarely in your life.

"don't forget me, yeah?" you murmur against her ear.

and in lieu of an answer, lara swiftly closes the distance between the two of you, her lips pressed against yours feverishly, as though it were the last time she would see you.

with your noses occasionally bumping against one-another's, it was only then that you saw the fondness in lara's eyes, her love for you encompassing her.

it's the color of love.

"you have all my sweaters anyway," lara teases, a smile playing on your face at the way the girl lightens the mood with ease.

"they're not you though."

a giggle escapes lara's throat before she presses her lips against yours once again, savoring your taste, "i love you."

"i love you too, lara raj."

it was like a vow, a promise that no matter what, it would always be the two of you against the world, and your love was real. with each kiss, lara was determined to kiss each tear prickling from your eyes away.

there must have been an angel by my side.

something heavenly came down from above.