The city lights blurred past the car window, a river of gold and white streaks as Miles gripped the steering wheel with white-knuckled intensity. Every heartbeat was loud, every passing street a reminder of what they were leaving behind. His hoodie was pulled tight, but it couldn't shield him from the adrenaline that coursed through his veins. Beside him, Leia sat haphazardly, backpack on her lap, hair tousled from the rush, eyes bright with a mix of fear and exhilaration.
"Are we… really doing this?" she asked softly, voice barely audible over the hum of the engine and the tires rolling over asphalt.
Miles stole a glance at her, his jaw set but his eyes softer than she expected. "Yeah. We are. No going back now. We've waited too long, put up with too much. This is our chance. You and me."
Leia exhaled, letting the tension slip just slightly from her shoulders. She could feel it—the moment of recklessness, the wild freedom, the rush of adrenaline that came from doing the one thing society, and life, had never allowed her: leaving it all behind.
The streets of the city seemed endless, but Miles didn't care. He took turns sharply, following the routes they'd scouted earlier, places where they wouldn't be seen until it was too late. Leia leaned forward, eyes scanning the empty roads, then glanced at Miles.
"You're… really driving us out of here?" she asked, a half-laugh, half-shiver in her voice.
He smirked, tapping the steering wheel. "We've got tonight, maybe the next few hours. After that… we make our own rules. Just you and me, Leia. Just us."
Her stomach flipped. She reached over, brushing her hand against his arm. "Miles… this is insane. But I don't care. I want it. I want you."
His smile softened, and for a moment, the chaos of the day, the chaos of their lives, seemed to pause. He reached for her hand, intertwining fingers with hers, squeezing gently. "I want you too. Always. You know that, right?"
Leia nodded, heart pounding, leaning back into the passenger seat as the wind whipped through the slightly cracked window. The city skyline shrank behind them, replaced by the outskirts, where streetlights were sparse and the darkness stretched on like an invitation to something new.
The car grew quiet, except for the tires on the asphalt and the faint sound of their breaths. Leia's eyes wandered to the rear-view mirror. For a fleeting moment, she could see the outline of her home disappearing in the distance, a mix of fear and liberation settling in her chest.
"Do you think… they'll ever forgive us?" she asked quietly.
Miles shook his head. "Don't think about that now. Not tonight. Tonight, it's just us. No rules, no parents, no expectations. We make our own world."
Leia's lips curved into a small smile, but her eyes glistened as the reality of their decision sank in. The weight of what they were doing—leaving everything familiar, everything safe—made her pulse race in ways both thrilling and terrifying.
After what felt like hours but was only minutes, they reached a stretch of road outside the city, wide open and framed by the soft shadows of trees swaying in the wind. Miles slowed slightly, glancing at Leia.
"You ready for this?" he asked, voice low, urgent.
Leia took a deep breath, gripping her backpack straps. "Always. Let's do it."
The engine roared back to life as he accelerated again, the tires humming against the road. For the first time in forever, they were truly free, the city behind them shrinking into a memory.
Miles stole a glance at her again, and she caught his eyes. There was no doubt, no hesitation—just raw trust and unspoken promises. He had never felt more alive, more certain of anything in his life. And Leia—she felt the same.
The horizon opened before them, black and Infinite, dotted with faint stars overhead. The wind whipped past the car, carrying the smell of freedom, the sense of possibility. Leia leaned toward the window, letting her hands catch the cold air, hair flaring behind her in the wind.
"Goodbye!" she screamed suddenly, loud and wild, voice carried by the rush of motion and the thrill of leaving it all behind.
Miles laughed, the sound rough and happy, adrenaline vibrating through his chest. He stole a quick glance at her, feeling her joy, her recklessness, her everything. "Goodbye, world!" he shouted back, echoing her sentiment, as if the city and all its rules didn't exist anymore.
For a few moments, time seemed to stretch and bend around them. No school, no parents, no expectations—just them, the open road, and the night stretching endlessly ahead.
Leia's eyes sparkled in the moonlight, her laughter mingling with the hum of the tires. Miles's hand found hers again, holding it tightly, anchoring them to each other in the chaos of freedom.
And as the car disappeared into the shadows beyond the city limits, the last glimpse of home fading behind them, the only thing that mattered was that they were together.
The night was theirs. The road was theirs. And the world… well, it could wait.
But somewhere, deep in the back of their minds, the reality of what they had done—the consequences, the chaos, the unknown—lurched in like a shadow. And the freedom they felt was only the beginning.
Leia hung further out of the window, hair whipping wildly in the wind, yelling once more, "Goodbye, everything!"
Miles laughed, gripping the wheel, heart pounding with a mix of fear, adrenaline, and exhilaration. The city was gone. Their old lives were gone. And all that remained was them.
For now.