reyna's shoes were long gone, but the adrenaline prevented her from feeling the pebbles on the ground. it was cold, but neither of them could seem to feel it.

alex clutched reyna's hand, out of breath from running so much. they stopped under a stop sign, ironically. they panted, alex sitting down on the curb.

"i can't believe you just fucking did that." alex says in between breaths.

"it was kinda funny." reyna giggles, laying down on the street in front of him.

"i'm so glad i met you." alex says, the words slipping out of his mouth before he could think.

"me too." reyna smiles. "oh shit, where's karl?"

"i took him over to jimmy, i'll call him." he says, pulling out his phone.

after a few short conversations and finding street signs, alex informed reyna that karl had fled the party too. he was circling the neighborhood trying to look for the two.

"he's on his way over." he says, pulling reyna out of the street. he helps her up, letting her lean on him slightly. she puts her arms around his neck, cuddling into his neck.

"how's your lip, by the way?" alex asked, referring to the blood dripping down her face.

"oh, that's my nose." reyna pulls away slightly, keeping her hands in the same spot. she looks up at him with a grin.

"holy fucking shit, reyna." he scolds, using his sleeve to wipe up some of the blood. his fingers lingered over her lips, realizing what he could do if he had the guts to.

for the first time all night, reyna was speechless. she stood looking up at the boy in her arms, completely lost in him. it was then when she realized just how vulnerable she was, and how much she really didn't mind.

reyna moved her hands to his jawline, cupping his face. alex leaned in, letting reyna meet him halfway. alex remembered being told that he would feel fireworks, but instead, he felt a warmth he had never experienced before. reyna could taste the memories and the future all at once. they both felt completely safe, they felt like they had just came home from a year long vacation.

they didn't want to pull away from each other, but the near blinding lights that approached them made them stop. karl appeared in front of them, still in his car.

"OH SHIT!"" he screamed, muffled from the inside of the car. reyna shrugged, climbing in the front seat. alex stood there, very flustered, but soon followed the two into the car.

"so, how was running from the cops?" karl asked. reyna laughed, bending over in her seat. so much had just happened in the past half hour, and she loved it.

"can we steal a stop sign to match the shopping cart?" alex asked suddenly.

"YES!" reyna agreed, clapping he hands with excitement.

"how the hell are we going to do that?" karl questioned.

"you got a bolt extractor?" she asks.

"probably somewhere in the car, yeah." karl says, earning a weird look from alex.

"just in case." karl defends.

reyna shuffled through the car, eventually actually finding something she could use.

"pull over." she giggles, twirling the tool in her hand.

"you're fucking crazy." alex smiles.

"and drunk." reyna adds. she jumps out of the car while it was still moving slightly, bolting towards the stop sign on the corner. she worked quickly, tryint her best to not get caught. it wasn't the first time she had done this, since she needed it for an art submission a while back.

"why did you know how to do that?" karl asks as reyna climbed back in the car.

"i have experience." she hands the sign to alex.

"what the fuck?" alex mumbles while laughing.

"WHOOP!" randomly, reyna yells out while rolling down the window. "never mind it's cold."

"what the FUCK?" alex repeats, laughing even harder this time.

"mom can we stop at mcdonalds?" reyna turns to karl.

"i fucking hate it here." karl laughs. "do you have cash on you?"

"i do, even though i'd rather swallow a denim jacket than eat mcdonalds." alex says.

"alex, please." reyna turns around to face him. suddenly, she remembers the kiss they had shared, and she smiles at the thought.

"fine, idiot." alex ruffles her hair, making reyna slap his hand away.

the trio stop at a drive through, all ordering way too much food. they all got over one hundred chicken nuggets to share, along with a ton of fires and milkshakes.

"were going to vomit." karl laughs.

"yeah, but that's a problem for me in two hours." alex says, taking a handful of fries and shoving them in his mouth.

"let's go!" karl giggles while reyna claps her hands.

reyna and alex sat in the back together, claiming that it was easier to get the food, but ended up resting on alex's side. the three listened to karl's playlist, chilling in a parking lot.

"i'm going to get some sauce." karl says, leaving he car and heading to the mcdonalds.

"he could've just went to the drive through." reyna points out. alex shrugs, not really knowing how to respond since he realized what karl was doing.

alex put his arm around reyna timidly, a little anxious about being so close to her. she used the silence to think about the boy next to her. there was no doubting that they both had feelings for each other, but reyna wasn't sure if alex wanted a relationship with her.

"do you want to date?" reyna blurts.

alex choked on his food, putting his hand over his chest. reyna laughed, even though she was pretty sure she got rejected.

"yes." alex mumbles after clearing his throat.

"oh. that's good." reyna puts her head back on his shoulder. alex smiles to himself.

"is this what wilbur would call a pro gamer move?" reyna laughs, hiding her face in his shoulder.

"did you just fucking-" alex cuts himself off by laughing. "i can't wait to tell karl that that was how we started dating."

"can you imagine, we sit down to tell him like all serious, and i just went 'poggers'." reyna says in a british accent.

"poggers." alex repeats while making hand signs.