[Pokémon] A Highway Drive

[jvpski3]

NOTE: Some of these are fictional and made up characters, who are not in the real Pokemon series.

Disclaimer: Pokemon and Nintendo belong to their rightful owners. Author owns only Original Character named Adam appearing in this story. The story is not written for profit.

A Highway Drive

The sun was shining really brightly on the orange sky of the sunset, making a beautiful view on the whole city, including the Pokemon School campus. The sun's rays were glaring in the glass walls of skyscrapers, which made looking at them almost impossible. Lots of people were walking through the streets and the green areas.
There were lots of cars on the roads. All hatchbacks, limousines and sports cars were moving slowly through the city. But the city noise was impossible to reach from the campus limits.
The Pokemon School was limited by the city from the east and by the mountain range from the west. There were also some serpentine roads leading to vantage points, but almost no-one was there. Almost…

One of the vantage points is located near the campus. There's a short way leading to it directly from the school, but it also could be reached by serpentine roads. And there was only one person at the vantage point, sitting on the edge of the cliff and watching the city. The blue eyed boy with short, brown hair, wearing a little baggy, dark blue trousers, white and blue sneakers, dark blue fingerless gloves, a white T-shirt and an unzipped white body warmer vest with a blue horizontal stripe going though the middle of the vest.

Adam looked at the city and sighed. It's been a while since we was coming here each time he had something to think over. And he was thinking over some things this time. Again.
He put his hand into the pocket and pulled out a photo. There were some young people smiling at the camera. They were Ash Ketchum, Dawn Berlitz, May Maple, Misty Waterflower, Ruby Somono, Brock Harrison, Ritchie Hartford, Tracey Sketchit and him, Adam Landors.
Adam smiled, looking at the photo. He could say it wasn't a long time ago, but he was already missing them all since they left school. All of them returned home. Some of them returned as they started the school. But some of them returned changed. They returned as a couple.

Adam shook his head. "Not again! Stop thinking about it!" , he thought. But he couldn't stop thinking about the life he was leading. He was alone. Still alone. Yes, he liked some girls at school, but…
"Gosh, why does it return to me?" he muttered to himself, putting the photo back into his pocket. For all that time, since they left school, he was thinking about two girls he liked the most. Dawn and May, two beautiful girls from the Contest Class and two of his best friends.
He remembered that like it was yesterday. He knew Ash has a crush on Dawn, and she probably likes him too. He smiled at the memory of seeing Ash and Dawn blushing madly.
"Yeah, this was easy to recognize", he thought. Every time someone was telling something about Dawn, Ash was listening carefully. And he was going wild when someone said something bad about the blue haired girl.
Anyway, Adam liked her very much. And at one moment, he could swear he had a small crush on her. But Dawn was rather like a sister to him. And besides, he couldn't take her away from his best friend.

He remembered the moment, when Ash and Dawn finally confessed to each other. He and the others were doing their best to finally make them get together. But it took much longer than they thought. Especially because of an annoying purple haired trainer, named Paul. He also liked Dawn. But more in a physically than mentally way. Adam got his memories back to the moment the friends accidentally learned the truth about Paul's plans about Dawn, when he asked her out and she surprisingly agreed.

Flashback

"Come on, guys! We have to hurry!" Ash waved a hand to Adam and Brock, who just ran into the hall.
"Jesus, Ash! We still have a lot of time to get back to our room!" Adam looked at his black sports watch; it was 8:50 PM.
"You know that we have to be in our room exactly at 9 PM, otherwise we're in serious trouble. And the girls can come at any moment." Ash picked up a bag filled with food.
"I know. But don't forget that we asked them to come shortly after the teachers finish checking the rooms. And you know we had to do lots of things to convince Professor Oak to give us a permission to spend a movie night with girls." Adam chuckled, seeing Brock's dreamy expression; he had a huge experience, when it came to flirting with females, but he couldn't find the right one for him. So it resulted in Brock flirting with almost every pretty girl he saw. "Hey, Brocko! Stop daydreaming and move your butt upstairs. We need to unpack that food, remember?" Adam nudged their friend with his elbow, causing him to get back to reality. "Um.. what?" Brock snapped out of his dreams and looked at Adam and Ash with an asking expression.
"I said, get upstairs!" Adam laughed. "Stop daydreaming, Brock. You'll have a lot of time to spend with Cindy tonight." Then he turned to Ash. "Hey Ash, are all the girls coming?" All three boys walked up the stairs.

"No. Ruby said she has some work to do and Dawn…" Ash stopped for a second to swallow and let the emotions pass. "Dawn's going out with Paul tonight."
"Hey, don't worry, Ash. She does it only to get him off her back." Brock smiled as he opened the door of their room. They all entered and dropped their bags on the table. Adam took his mobile and went to the door.
"Where are you going? Girls will come with Ritchie and Tracey any second!" Ash appeared at the door as Adam went through the hall.
"I need to make a private call, OK? I'll be back in a second." Adam said. As he went past Paul's room, which was at the same corridor as their room, he suddenly heard Paul's voice through half-opened door.

"Yeah, that's oughta be interesting. Just like taking a candy from a baby." Paul laughed.
"You mean that bluenette?" someone else said.
"Sure thing, you know that." Paul replied.
Adam heard that, stunned. After a second, he looked back – Ash was still at the door. Adam waved to him to come, Ash did the same to Brock and a second later all three were crouching near the door. Adam switched something on in his mobile phone.
"So, what are ya going to do with her?" the second voice asked.
"I'm just going out with her to make her feel safe in my presence, but when we'll come back here, I'll give ya a call. Then it will be fun – but not for her!" Paul laughed.

Ash's eyebrows met in anger. Brock's eyes were showing all the anger he was suppressing inside himself, and Adam clenched his fists, still holding the mobile phone.
"I suggest to go inside and give Paul a lesson he deserves." Ash said through gritted teeth.
"No, Ash. We still don't know what Paul wants exactly to do." Brock was still angry, but tried to calm his friend down.
"How can you say that?! Didn't you hear what he just said? What other thing can he have in mind than…" Ash stopped; he couldn't spit out the word, it couldn't go through his throat when it came to Dawn.
"Hey guys, can you stop talking?" Adam looked at them with anger. "I'm trying to record something!"
"What?" Ash looked at his friend. Adam didn't say anything and just showed him his mobile's screen – the sound recorder was switched on and was recording Paul's conversation with the other guy. Suddenly, they heard footsteps. Adam quickly switched the recorder off and the three hurried to their room.
"OK then, I'm going out. See ya later!" Paul said as he went out of the room. All three friends came out of their room a second later.
"Come on, we need to warn Dawn!" Ash hurried to the stairway. As they were running down, Adam quickly looked through the window, which was giving a view on the front of the campus.
"Oh great, we're too late! Dawn is already outside with him!" he hit the window ledge with his fists.
"What are we going to do now?" Ash came back; they were coming back to their room.
"We can't do anything, but…" Adam looked at his black belt; there was a black Alpine pager attached to it. "Of course!" he slapped his head.
"What?" Ash looked surprised.
"Remember when we were going treasure hunting to the forest?" Ash nodded. "We left our mobiles in the room as they were discharged, but Dawn took hers and I took my pager. I gave her my pager ID so she could call us if anything happened. If she will be aware what's going on around her, she'll send us a message to my pager if something happens."
"OK, meanwhile let's get back to the room. I see guys coming along with girls." Brock smiled.

"Hah hah hah hah!" the laughs of the pack were heard in the whole room. They were all watching a comedy, using Brock's TV set and DVD player, eating popcorn and drinking Coke. They were sitting anywhere they could – Adam with May on one bed, Tracey and Misty on another, Ritchie, Ash and Pikachu on the floor and Brock with Cindy on the sofa. They were watching films for a couple of hours now, and they all, including Pikachu, were having fun while Brock was flirting with Cindy, what she was enjoying.
Adam looked at his watch – it was 12:30 AM. Suddenly, something beeped. Brock paused the film while Adam took his pager off his belt. He pressed a few buttons, checked out the screen and grabbed a Pokeball, reattaching the pager back to his belt.
"Guys, it's just as we expected. Girls, will you wait with Ritchie and Tracey?" Adam looked at the rest of the pack. Girls nodded, while Brock grabbed his Pokeball. "OK, let's go!" Ash said as he opened the door and flew out along with Pikachu, Brock and Adam.

Dawn entered Paul's room with a smile. She surprisingly enjoyed the whole evening spent with the purple haired guy, and she happily accepted his invitation to his place.
She looked around the room. Everything was clean and shiny, which she found a little weird for such an arrogant guy she thought Paul was so far.
"Dawn, I'll be back for a second, I'll just make a call, OK? I have a surprise for you." Paul smiled.
"OK." She replied. Paul went into another room – unfortunately for him, leaving the door half-opened.
Dawn sat on the bed and waited still, when she heard Paul's voice. "Yeah, I told ya I'll give you a call. She's here. As I said, it was as easy as taking a candy from a baby. She thinks we have a surprise for her… Yeah, of course we have. I told ya, it will be fun – but NOT for her, heh heh. OK…"

Dawn didn't want to hear more, she already knew what Paul was going to do. "What should I do?" she thought. She hurried to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. "He locked me down here!" she took out her mobile phone. "I should call Ash to come and help me… NO! Paul will hear me talking and this will make things worse. What should I do…" she was quickly checking her contacts list when she suddenly stopped on a contact named "Adam's Pager – Text Only" with a number of 49230032. "Of course! I'll send a message to Adam's pager!" she quickly opened the text application and wrote "I'm at Paul's place. His plans aren't probably good. Need help right away!" and sent it. "I just hope they'll get here in time." she thought when she suddenly felt someone pushing her on the bed. She fell down on it, then quickly turned around. "Paul, what are you-" she was quieted down by a hard slap in her face.
"Shut up and do as I tell ya!" Paul jumped on her, trying to tear her dark blue dress off, while she was trying to get him off her. They were fighting like that for a minute, when suddenly they heard someone trying to open the door.

"Great, they're locked!" one voice said. "Then we have to break it open!" the second one replied. "On three! One – two – three!" and a second later the door slammed open. Dawn gave a squeal of relief, seeing Ash, Brock and Adam running into the room.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered his electric Pokemon.
"Aipom, use Swift!" Adam threw his Pokeball into the air, releasing the purple monkey Pokemon.
"Croagunk, hit Paul with Brick Break!" Brock released his purple poison frog Pokemon out.
Aipom jumped into the air and with a loud "Aipom!" he released lots of stars from his tail. Pikachu sent out a lightning bolt with a loud "Pi-ka-chu!" and Croagunk's paw glowed white, when it hit Paul. All three combined attacks sent Paul to the ground with a hard thump. Brock and Adam grabbed him tightly, while Ash came over to Dawn.
"Hey, are you okay?" He asked. "Y-yeah…" she sobbed quietly. "Don't cry, it's over now." Ash caressed her blue hair as he gave her a hug. "Come on, let's go to our place. The rest of us is there." He took her hand and helped her get up. Then he turned around to Paul. "What will we do with this jerk?"
Adam turned Paul around so they were face to face and grabbed his shirt, while Brock was still holding him tightly. "You go near her again and our Pokemon will dismantle you. Got it?!" Paul nodded. "I hope so. Meanwhile, you'll go to Officer Jenny with Brock. Guys, come on, let's go." They all left the room.

"Yeah, and – oh God, Dawn, what happened?!" the girls stopped their conversation with Tracey and Ritchie as the door clicked close and hurried over to their friend, who had red eyes because of crying. "Ash, what happened?" May asked. "Paul tried to…" Ash whispered the rest in May's ear, which made her eyebrows meet in anger. "How could he?!" she shouted. "Hey, May, please calm down!" Adam put his hand on her shoulder, while Misty was comforting her crying friend, Tracey hurried to get Dawn some tissues, Ritchie went to the kitchen to make some chocolate and Cindy left to bring some fresh clothes for Dawn after taking the room key from Misty. "We took care of Paul, and I bet Officer Jenny is examining him right now – Brock took him to the police and he should be back any second." May sighed with relief after Adam's words. After a few minutes, Brock and Cindy came back at the same time.
"Paul is taken into custody and won't get out for at least few next days." Brock said with a smile, while Cindy gave Dawn her PJs and showed her the bathroom, so she could get changed. A few minutes later, the bluenette came out of the bathroom already changed in her pink sleeping clothes. Ritchie gave her a cup of hot chocolate and Tracey handed a pack of tissues to her. "Thanks, guys." Dawn took the cup and the packet from boys and sat down on Ash's bed, resting her back against the wall.
"Hey, um… guys… you still wanna watch the movies?" Ash scratched the back of his head, then he turned to Dawn.
"Um… okay…" Dawn said quietly. Ash sat down on his bed next to Dawn, who cuddled up to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Everyone returned to their places and Brock re-started the film.

They continued watching the film and laughing at some scenes again, this time along with Dawn. Ash smiled, seeing her laughing again. But, after some time, he noticed that she wasn't moving for some time and looked down at her, only to realize that she was sleeping, resting her head on his shoulder. Ash put her into his bed and covered her with his covers, giving her an unnoticeable peck on her cheek and whispering quietly "Glad you're OK. I love you, you know that?". Then he sat on the floor after putting Dawn's empty cup on the table.
"Let her sleep. I bet she's tired after tonight." he said, seeing his friends' expressions when they realized that he put Dawn into his bed. Brock instantly lowered the volume. Nobody noticed that Dawn wasn't sleeping; a smile crossed her face as she heard Ash's words.

End of flashback

Adam smiled, remembering the story. Paul was expelled from school a few days later because of that and because of trying to break into a laboratory. As an addition Adam showed the recording to Professor Oak as an evidence of Paul's plans, which was the final step to expelling Paul. And Ash and Dawn got together a few days after, when Ash realized that Dawn heard his words during the movie night. Of course, it was a little hard for him seeing Dawn with Ash, but on the other hand he was happy that she's with his best friend.

And there was May. May Maple, the daughter of Petalburg's gym leader, Norman. One of the best coordinators he had ever seen. And one of the most beautiful girls he knew. She looked so great in her red T-shirt and her black shorts. And she was recognizable because of her red bandana on her beautiful brown hair. "Wish I made a move on her a little bit earlier", he thought. He wanted to ask May out after one of the school balls, but it looked like he was too late – and he had to regret this, because the green haired coordinator with the name of Drew confessed to her during that ball – and he saw this with his own eyes.
Adam got his memories back to that ball. He knew that he couldn't think about it for long, because it was bringing him to tears of sadness, but he had to. He just couldn't forget.

Flashback

Loud music was heard all over the dancing hall. Lots of dancing pairs were seen on the parquet and some people were standing near food tables – including four girls wearing similar dresses, but differently colored, and four boys dressed in their black tuxedos, except for Brock, who was wearing a white one.
"So here we are, the big Carnival Ball. Half of school dancing like crazy and other half tucking into lots of food." Ritchie teased Ruby, a girl at Dawn and May's age and their size, with short, blonde hair which was tied up into two buns on both sides of her head with blue ribbons and copper brown eyes..
"Oh come on, Ritchie! Don't tell me that you don't like balls!" Ruby teased back; she was wearing a long, blue dress.
"I didn't say this." Ritchie grinned. "Come on, Ruby, let's show them how to dance!" he took Ruby's hand and led her to the parquet.
"Well, well, looks like Ritchie finally turned himself on when it comes to dancing." Adam smiled to Ash.
"Yeah. And looks like Tracey doesn't mind flirting with Misty." Ash pointed to the table in the corner, where Tracey was telling something to Misty, who was laughing at what he was saying.
"I'm just glad they finally got along together. It was impossible seeing Misty going wild every time she saw him talking with another girl." Dawn smiled; this evening she was wearing a long, white dress and a blue necklace, which perfectly got along with her eyes and hair.
"Look who's talking, sweetie, remember your reactions?" Ash teased her, sliding his arm around her waist.
"At least I wasn't willing to tear other people into pieces, like you wanted to!" Dawn teased back, getting a funny glare from Ash and an amused eye roll from Adam and May. Brock didn't say anything, he was too absorbed in flirting with Cindy.
"OK, I got the message. Come on, let's dance!" Ash led Dawn onto the parquet.

"May, would you like to dance?" Adam looked at his brown haired friend and offered her a hand.
"With pleasure." May smiled, letting Adam lead her onto the parquet. As they started dancing, a slow music came on.
"Did you tip the band?" she teased.
"No, I didn't. But I bet Ash and Brock did." He teased back with an amused smile.
May looked back at Ash and Dawn. They were seeing nothing else but each other. They looked so happy and cute together. May sighed.
"They look really happy." she said, pointing at the couple with her head.
"Yes, they are. I'm glad they are together." Adam replied, looking deeply into May's sapphire eyes. She did the same for a moment, but then she looked away and sighed again.
"May… are you all right?" he asked. She just shook her head.
"I'm okay, really. Don't worry." She gave him a fake smile which he noticed.
"May, I know you for a long time and I can tell when something is bothering you. Tell me, is something wrong?" Adam smiled to her; she looked deep in his eyes.
"It's just that… when I think about those two…" she said quietly. "I mean-" she was stopped by Adam's two fingers placed on her lips.
"Don't say anything, I think I know what's goin' on." he smiled. They danced together for another minute, when Adam looked in her eyes again – he had to ask her, it was now or never.

"Um, May… may I ask you something?" he asked, turning a bit red.
"Sure, go on." May smiled. Adam looked at her again. She looked so perfect in her long, red dress, and her blue necklace perfectly matched it.
"Well, um… I was just… I was wondering if-" he was stopped by another guy, who came near them. Drew.

"Excuse me, can I talk with May for a second?" Drew asked with a smile. May looked at Adam. He nodded. "Sure, no problem." She replied.
Adam left May with Drew and went to the table. He took a glass and poured some lemonade into it. As he was sipping it slowly, he looked around the hall. Everyone were chatting or dancing. He saw Dawn cuddled up to Ash, who was caressing her back. He saw Tracey dancing with Misty, mesmerized with each other. He smiled – it looked like they officially got together, much to relief of the others. He saw Ritchie dancing with Ruby and Brock kissing Cindy – wait, Brock was kissing a girl?! And she was enjoying it?! "Brock finally made it!" he thought muffling an amused laughter. Then he turned to see May. And the view he got made him stunned.

Drew was telling her something he couldn't hear, but it looked like May was really surprised with it. And the surprised expression on her face changed to unbelievable joy when Drew gave her a red rose. The she just fell into his arms and kissed him. And Adam realized his mistake: he could ask May out earlier, because now Drew confessed to her and she happily accepted. And he was standing near the table, staring at them as the music kept playing.
He snapped out of the stunning shock he just experienced and put his hand into his tuxedo's pocket. He felt something hard inside. He pulled it out and realized that he was holding a set of keys to his car. He put an empty glass on the table and walked away from it.
He made his way towards the exit, ignoring the fact he was bumping into other people. He just wanted to be alone right now. He didn't notice that Ash and Dawn just got off the parquet and saw him leaving. He didn't notice that May saw him walking away. He just needed to get out of that place.

"Ash, where's Adam going? The ball hasn't finished yet." Dawn asked him as they noticed the brown haired boy leaving. "I don't know. But I'll go and ask him what's going on." Ash replied. "OK, but come back fast." she replied with a smile, giving him a lovely kiss on the cheek.

Adam got out of the hall. He quickly walked through the parking lot, looking around the cars. Finally, he found it. A silver 1998 Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo with number plates 23-032. He opened the right door, as the car had its steering wheel on right side, and got in. He quickly buckled the seat belt, put the key into ignition station and turned it, starting the engine and switching the lights on at the same time.

Ash got out of the building and heard the engine starting at the same moment. He made a few quick steps and he saw a silver GTO reversing from its parking space. Then the engine roared a few times and the car accelerated away, giving a loud and long squeal from its tires and leaving a lot of white smoke behind.
"Adam, what's going on?" Ash thought, going back to the hall and taking out his mobile phone.

He was driving through the highway, passing other vehicles like a flash. He looked at the gauges – the speedometer was showing 300 km/h, and the tachometer showed 5500 RPM on fifth gear. He pressed the throttle harder. Every time he felt like that, we was hitting the highway and speeding through it.

It was his mistake. He couldn't blame any other person than himself. Besides, how could he be so blind not to notice that despite the fact that May is his close friend, she also likes Drew very much, and the green haired coordinator likes her too?
Something beeped. Adam held his right hand on the wheel and checked his mobile with the left one, but its screen was empty. Yep, the battery was down. His hand moved over to his belt and took the pager off it. He pressed a few buttons and read the message.
"From: Ash
Adam, where did you go? We are all worried about you down here – me, Dawn, Misty, May, all of us - and your mobile is off. I don't know what happened that you decided to leave, but at least you could tell us what's going on.
Reply to me as soon as possible. We're all worried down here."
Adam saved the message and put his pager on the car shelf. He didn't want anyone to interrupt him right now. He wanted to be alone. He didn't care if they were worried, even May. He had to re-think it over. Alone.
A small tear of sadness fell down his cheek as he shifted the gear and floored the throttle.

End of flashback

Adam sighed and wiped away small tears that formed in his eyes. Yep, that was it, his memories made him almost cry. But he had to deal with the thing – May was with Drew now, and it was only his own mistake that he didn't ask her out earlier. It was only his mistake. Now he was the one staying alone from the pack, everyone else got together with each other. Almost - Ritchie met a girl named Amy and got together with her. He didn't know how was Ruby doing despite the fact he was seeing her pretty often in the city.

One thing that he didn't notice was that he wasn't alone at the vantage point anymore. He didn't notice that somebody is standing behind him until he heard a familiar voice.
"Again at the vantage point, huh?" he turned around. He knew that voice – it belonged to Ruby Somono. Just as he expected, she was standing behind him with her hands on her hips.
This time, Ruby was wearing a black shirt with a blue jacket with a white hoodie over it, a black and white skirt, white leggings decorated with a blue stripe on top and black shoes. "I knew I'd find ya here."
"What the – how did you know I'd be here?" he asked, surprised. He didn't tell anyone where he was going and didn't expect anybody to show up here at this time of the day.
"I noticed your car at the school's parking lot. You come here pretty often, I must say – I always go back home near the school and see your car every few days." She grinned. "Besides, where else could you be than here? All your friends know that you don't like nightclubs and bars, and the billiards club isn't open yet." she teased. "Anyway, what are you doing here at the sunset?"
"I'm not a member of the billiards club, I just go there to play pool sometimes." Adam replied. "And back to being here – I like coming here, the sunset is great when seen from here."
"Yeah, right. And I am the President." Ruby teased him again. "There are lots of better places to watch the sunset. So go on and tell me, whatcha doing here every few days? Feeling too nervous or what?" she sat next to him.
"Nothing special, if I have to be honest. Just thinking." Adam turned to face her.
"Thinking?" Ruby looked at him, surprised. "About what? You don't have a job, you're a Pokemon trainer! You don't have to care about your workplace or what your boss says."
"I don't think about those. More along the line of… people and my past." he muttered.
"People? Your past? What exactly?" Ruby was really curious now, but Adam didn't want to tell her everything. No-one knew about his heart problems and he rather wanted it to stay that way.
"I just had to re-hash the past and realize some actions. Don't worry about it." He stood up and started walking down the sandy path leading to Pokemon School campus. A second later Ruby was walking next to him.
"Adam, you're acting weird lately. All of your friends see it. You're stressed about something. Spit it out, you'll feel better – at least it helps me." Ruby smiled.
"I'm not sure if I feel better after, like you say, 'spitting it out of me'. It's mostly my business. As I said, don't worry. I'll get over with it." He replied and a moment later he felt a hand holding his shoulder and stopping him from going further. He turned around to see Ruby glaring at him.

"You'll better tell me what's going on, Adam Landors, or I'm gonna make you spit it out by force!" she gritted out.
"And how are you going to force me to do it? Beat me up?" he teased.
"And what will you do if I say yes? Nyah!" she mocked, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Oh, come on, Ruby." Adam turned around and was just about to walk away when he felt a hard slap hitting his neck. A second later he was laying on the ground with Ruby above him with her hand raised.
"So, will you tell me what's going on or to I have to tickle you to make you say that?!" she teased him, starting to tickle him, which made him laugh hysterically.
"Ahahahahah –OK, OK – hahah – stop it, I'll tell you – hahahahahah!" Adam spit out between laughs. Ruby stopped tickling him and let him get up. Adam cleared himself out of dust and continued walking down the path, along with Ruby.
"So, tell me, what's going on with you?" she asked after a minute of silence.
"Well, I can't tell you exactly what are my problems as I don't want anyone to know about it. All I can say is that it goes about feelings." Adam replied as they finally reached the parking lot. It was getting dark, and all the lamp posts started to switch themselves on.

"Feelings? Don't tell me – you have problems with girls?" Ruby smiled.
"No, not really. You know I'm alone." he replied, taking a car key out of his pocket.
"And you know I'm in almost the same situation as you." She grinned at him. Adam looked at his blonde haired friend, astonished; she was alone?! "How can such a pretty and cute girl like her be alone?" he thought, but then he instantly turned red and thought "Wait wait wait, did I just call her pretty and cute in my thoughts?!"
"Nah, I don't believe it." Adam waved his left hand, having his cheeks return to normal colour and opening the car with his right one.
"But it's true. Nyah!" she stuck her tongue out again childishly. Adam laughed, amused. Then he opened the door and got in.
"Hey, where are you going?" Ruby asked, staring through the open window.
"I just need to hit the highway, calm myself down a bit after all those thoughts." Adam replied. Then he put a key into the ignition station and turned it. After a second, a quiet sound of ignition was replaced by a louder roar, accompanied by silent whistling of two turbines. Adam reversed his car out of the parking space and shifted it back to neutral gear, when Ruby walked up to the window.
"Hey Adam, may I go with you tonight? I wanna see how it is to go through the highway." She asked with a smile.
"I don't know… You know I like driving really fast." Adam scratched the back of his head. "Maybe another-" he stopped as Ruby did something he wasn't suspecting: she quickly outstretched her arm to reach the keys, switched the car off, pulled the keys out and jumped back so she was out of Adam's reach with his car keys in her hand.

"Hey, what was THAT supposed to mean?! Give me my keys back!" Adam shouted as he got out of the car.
"Nope!" Ruby grinned. "I won't do it."
"Ruby, it's not time for joking, give them back to me!" Adam rushed towards his friend, but Ruby jumped out of his reach and stuck her tongue out of him.
"I will give you the keys back but you have to do one thing." She smiled.
"What?" Adam raised an eyebrow.
"You'll get the keys if you take me with ya tonight. Nyah!" She stuck her tongue out again.
"Ruby… this… isn't… funny!" Adam gritted out, a bit amused – every time he was close to catch her, she jumped out of his reach and teased him, sticking her tongue out, which made him more angry and more amused at once.
"Oh yes it is! NYAH!" She teased him again, sticking her tongue out.
"Oh come on! I don't have all night!" Adam rushed towards her one more time, but she jumped back.
"So, will you take me with ya to the highway or do I have to keep those keys?" she grinned. Adam rushed towards her one last time, but Ruby jumped away and laughed, seeing Adam falling down into nearby bushes as he couldn't stop in time.
"OK, OK! I'll do it! I WILL take you tonight!" Adam shouted, going out of the bushes and cleaning himself from leaves that stuck to his vest. "Just… give me my keys back, OK?" he asked in a calmer voice.
"OK. Here you go." Ruby smiled as she threw the keys to her friend. He caught them in mid-air and walked back to the car. As he got in, he opened the left door so Ruby could get in.
"OK, Ruby, buckle up. I don't want anyone to fly out through the windshield if anything happens." Adam said and laughed, seeing Ruby's terrified expression. "Just joking! Did you think I'll cause an accident or something? Don't worry. Just buckle up and we're going."
Ruby did as he said. Then he turned the key. He engine roared again, lights flashed up as he turned the switch, and the GTO accelerated away from the parking lot, giving a long and loud squeal from the tires and leaving lots of smoke.

The highway was calm, as usual. Roads flashed up by lamp posts. Cars and trucks going at normal speed of about 150 km/h. But one thing was unusual. A silver Mitsubishi GTO passing other vehicles, going about 220 km/h.
Adam looked at Ruby. She was sitting calm, without saying anything.
"So, Ruby, you wanted to see how it is to go through the highway. So whatcha say about it?" he started to make a conversation. Ruby looked at him, then she returned her gaze to the road.
"Well, it's pretty interesting, going through the highway at night at high speed. I just don't get it, what do you see in this?" she asked.
"Well, it's hard to answer." Adam smiled in apology.
"Try to. And tell me, what is your car's name exactly?" Ruby grinned.
"The GTO." Adam replied. Ruby looked at him, a little astonished. "It's a 1998 Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo, exactly." Adam smiled as Roby looked at him, still curious. "It's a tuned version. I tuned this engine myself. It is much stronger than a standard GTO engine, which reaches 220 HP." Adam grinned again, pressing the throttle.
"Yourself?" Ruby laughed. "Interesting, knowing the fact no-one ever saw you working on that car. So, what's the power of this car? 300 HP? 400 HP?" she asked, leaning forward a bit. Adam didn't say anything, he just shifted the gear and pressed the throttle. The power of sudden acceleration pushed Ruby hard in her seat, causing her to squeal lightly.

"It has 930 horsepower." Adam said after a moment of silence. Ruby squealed at his words. "930? How did you achieve THAT power?!" she asked, still not believing to Adam's words.
"Don't forget that's the twin-turbo version. Besides, I made some serious modifications to that engine. But why are you asking? Are you a professional mechanic of what?" Adam laughed.
"Of course I'm not! I'm just a bit curious as I never seen a normal street car with such power." Ruby nudged him with her elbow. "So, what do you see in highway racing?"
"I'm not a racer. I was a long time ago, but I'm not racing now. I mean, I'm not racing when I don't need to. I mostly go through the highway speeding." Adam squinted his eyes a little. "Going through the highway calms me down. It helps me to overreact and re-think some matters."
"Does anybody drive with you?" Ruby leaned forward a bit against him. Adam looked at her. She looked cute while sitting in this car. He felt his cheeks getting warm. "Oh no, please, don't." he thought, giving a quick look on Ruby's face. "But gosh, she looks so nice. Her eyes look so cute at night… Jeez! Stop it and focus on driving!" Adam felt his cheeks really burning now. "No. Not really." He pressed the throttle harder.
"Adam, are you OK? Your face is red." Ruby asked with a worried look.
"I'm OK. It's just… a little hot in here. But I'll be fine." Adam answered, confusing her a little. He started to pass a truck in front of them, when Ruby suddenly giggled.
"What?" Adam finished passing the truck.
"I just thought that you could do some more risky things. Normal speeding isn't exciting at all." Ruby grinned.
"Normal speeding? Watch this." Adam grinned as he accelerated strongly, quickly getting closer to another truck. When he was about two metres from its back, he quickly turned the wheel, causing the car to change the lane.
"You could come closer! That's all you can do?" Ruby teased with a grin.
"No!" came the answer. As the car approached a few columns of cars, Adam started a slalom between them with a mighty speed. Ruby watched it with a smile, but after Adam came out of the slalom, she yawned.
"Still no excitement." She said. Adam was getting angry. She looked at him. "He looks cute when he's angry. Wait, did I say cute?!" she thought quickly.
"You asked for it." Adam floored the throttle and started to drift between cars, going about 280 km/h, occasionally looking at Ruby.
Ruby was observing Adam's tries to make her excited. She knew he was observing her, but she pretended she doesn't see it. Every time he looked at her, she was yawning, even if she knew she likes his tricks. "Oh, I just love making him angry, he looks so sweet… Oh gosh, how did I call him?! What's going on with me?" she thought.
Adam got out of drifting and stepped on the throttle. "So?!" he asked with a little anger.
"Still nothing. Your driving style just isn't exciting." She said. This answer made Adam mad. He quickly turned the left indicator, turned the car left so it began drifting and rushed into the parking point in front of a drive-in restaurant, giving a long squeal from the car's tires. He stopped the car, applied the handbrake and turned off the engine.
"Sayin' my driving style isn't exciting, huh? Just repeat that." Adam looked at his friend, angry.
"Sure. Your driving style ISN'T EXCITING! NYAH!" She stuck her tongue out. Adam thought about something for a second and a devilish smile finally crossed his face.
"Wanna get excited?" he asked with a grin.

"Whoah! I didn't realize it can be so funny!" Ruby laughed.
"Yeah, it is. Jesus, girl! Slow down!" Adam replied.
"What? Too fast for ya?" she teased.
"No, it's just… Whoah! Good God, Ruby! Slow down a bit! And don't tell me it's your first time!" he shouted.
"But it is!" she grinned.
"OK, let it be…Whoah! I told you, slow down! Wanna get us killed or what?!" Adam looked back; they just passed a huge 18-wheeler, turning in the last moment.
"No, I don't want to die in a car. Especially – " Ruby patted the steering wheel "- in THAT car."
Adam smiled. Yeah, it was a good idea – giving Ruby a chance to drive his GTO. He looked at his friend – she wasn't scared of driving, but she still was unsure if she could hold such a powerful car on the road. He made an amused eye roll as she looked at him, smiling and the memories from a few minutes returned.

Flashback

Adam looked at Ruby with a devilish smile.
"Wanna get excited?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" she replied, astonished.
"You said my driving isn't exciting, right?" he said.
"Yep, I did. It's not, at least for me." she grinned.
"So that's it. We're switching places! You're driving now, we'll see how do YOU drive." Adam teased as he unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door. Before Ruby could say anything, Adam was already on the left side.
"Come on, get to the driver's seat!" he grinned. Ruby sighed, got out of the car and switched places with Adam.
"Now remember, this car has a 4-wheel-drive and 930 HP under the hood." Adam said as they both buckled up.
"Are you sure? I've never driven a car so far. Especially such a powerful car." Ruby checked the gear lever; it was positioned at N gear.
"I am sure. You know how to operate, right?" Adam smiled.
"I think so. Now… clutch, brake, throttle." Ruby tapped the pedals. "Handbrake, gear lever. Always press clutch when switching gears." she pointed at the levers.
"Good. Now, rev up the engine, lights on and let's go!" Adam grinned. Ruby turned the key and a silent sound of ignition turned into a louder roaring of the engine and silent whistling of turbines. Then she released the handbrake, shifted into 1st gear and hit the throttle, switching on the indicator. The car accelerated away from the parking, with tires squealing and smoke behind, and got back on the road.

End of flashback

And now this was it. He was sitting on the passenger's seat, and Ruby was behind the wheel, speeding at 240 km/h. He smiled as he looked at her. She looked perfect, focused behind the car's wheel. "She looks so great at night… God! Am I…" he felt his cheeks burning.
Ruby changed the lane. It felt really good, sitting behind the wheel of a really powerful car. She looked at Adam. He was sitting calm, giving a quick look at her from time to time and checking what she was doing. She smiled and pressed the throttle harder. "Looks like he's still afraid if I can handle it. Sweet, he's caring. Wait, did I…?" Ruby's cheeks got pink. She quickly looked at her friend. He was observing the road.
"So, any comparisons between our driving styles?" Ruby smiled.
"Yeah. You are driving quickly, but more aggressively than me. It can be exciting some way." Adam grinned. Ruby quickly looked at the sign and turned left to the entrance loop. Adam looked at the sign and stunned for a second.

"Wait, Ruby… what the…?" he asked.
"You said it can be exciting, right? You haven't seen everything yet." Ruby replied.
"Ruby… are we entering Loop D1?" Adam was astonished.
"Yes, we are." Ruby smiled. Adam sweatdropped.
"Ahem…" Adam cleared his throat. "Ruby… Loop D1 is the most traffic-packed stage of the highway! You must be crazy to go speeding there!"
"I know that." Ruby grinned, flooring the throttle and entering Loop D1. As she did, lots of cars appeared on the road. Adam looked at the road and his jaw dropped down; there was almost no place to go through, especially at high speed. But Ruby didn't care, she just shifted the gear.
"No, no, no, no, RUBY, DOOOOOOOOOOOOON'T!!!" he shouted, terrified, as Ruby hit the throttle and started drifting between cars. She just laughed and continued drifting. "Jesus, she's crazy! Drifting at THIS speed at Loop D1! But… it's somehow positive, I couldn't do it myself, at least for now. She is just… What the… again?! What's happening with me?" Adam felt his cheeks burning again.
"Hah hah! Adam, are you scared of that?!" Ruby laughed.
"No! Not really!!" Adam shouted, terrified.
"Riiight!" Ruby grinned. "Watch this!" Saying that, she turned the wheel so the GTO went right in front of a huge truck.
"Whoooooooooooooooooooaaaah!" Adam shouted as they nearly got rammed by the truck. Luckily, Ruby turned again so they came back to normal position.
"Didn't I tell you? You haven't seen everything yet." Ruby smiled and stuck her tongue out then. Adam just laughed. "Well, looks like he likes it. Good, but I hope it's not over yet." She smiled to herself as she turned around and got back through the C5 descent back on the main road of the highway. "Let's go back, OK?" She asked with a smile. "Sure, no problem. But… Ruby, it was CRAZY! Drifting at 260K on Loop D1! Almost no-one did that before!" Adam exclaimed.
"Looks like I was the one to do it." She grinned. She just passed another column of cars. "You know, it's very different."
"What do you mean?" Adam looked at his friend, surprised.
"I mean, these are two different points of view. Sitting on the passenger's seat doesn't show all those pros of highway driving. You just sit in the car and watch everything. But… being the driver, it's absolutely different. You feel completely different when you are behind the wheel, having all that power and speed to control. You feel-" she was stopped by Adam.
"You feel like you are completely free. No past and no future." He smiled.
"Yes. No problems, just the moment. You, car, and the road. Nothing else." Ruby also smiled.
"Sure thing. Now… what about…" Adam stopped and looked in the rear mirror, astonished. Ruby also looked in the mirror.

There was a black tuned Supra behind them, flashing its lights at them. Adam got pale; a sweat drop got down his forehead.
"Oh no… not this one." He muttered.
"Who is it?" Ruby asked.
"This-" Adam pointed back. "-is a Supra. But it's not an ordinary one. This one here is a tuned HKS Supra." He looked back to check out the number plates as the black car was right behind the GTO. "67-475. Just as I thought."
"Adam, I didn't ask what car is it, I asked WHO is it?!" Ruby lost her patience.
"Hey, Ruby, calm down. Almost no-one knows this guy, but the car is known as The Black Thunder. He never accepts challenges." Adam's eyes squinted; the Supra changed the lane and was approaching them from the left. "He always challenges the others. It's said he never lost any race."
"Have you ever raced that guy?" Ruby asked.
"No. He never challenged me." Adam looked left. Both GTO and Supra were now going equally, bumper to bumper.
"How does a highway race start?" Ruby asked suddenly, startling Adam.
"If you're a challenger, you have to wait till the other car accelerates. If you're challenged, just hit the throttle and the race is on." Adam looked at his friend. "Why are you…" she stopped, seeing a devilish smile on Ruby's face and he quickly realized what she was into. "Oh, no. No. Nonononononono - NO! There's no way I'll let you race that guy!" he shouted as Ruby put her hand on the gear lever.
"OK then, but you forget about one important thing, Landors." She teased; she knew he didn't like it when his friends called him by his surname.
"What now?!" he asked with anger.
"I am the one behind the wheel – not you!" she teased him again, sticking her tongue out. Then she quickly changed the gear and hit the throttle. The GTO went forward like a flash with a loud squeal; the Supra did the same.

"OK, Ruby, go and race him, because now you don't have a choice! You have to stay on the road!" Adam said as they entered a long tunnel. She just grinned at his words and pressed the throttle harder; the Supra was sticking close to them.
"But… what should I do now?" Ruby gave a quick look in the mirror.
"Oh, no, don't tell me that you don't know the risk of highway races!" Adam shot her a glare. She just blushed at his sharp look. "Oh God, he's right. I don't know anything about highway races! What now?! If I lose, he might not forgive this to me for a long time…" she thought. "I – I'm sorry…" she stammered and started to slow down.
Adam didn't know what he was exactly doing, he just put his hand on Ruby's leg and pressed it, causing Ruby to step on the throttle.
"Don't –" Adam gave her another glare "- slow down."
"But…" Ruby started, but Adam stopped her with his hand gesture. The Black Thunder was getting ready to pass them.
"No, Ruby. Don't slow down. I know you don't know the risk, but try to do your best now." Adam smiled to comfort her.
"Then tell me, what is the risk of highway racing?" Ruby looked at her friend, curious.
"You really want to know that?" Adam was a little surprised – a girl who isn't interested in cars wants to know the risk of races?
"Please, tell me. I want to know what I'm into." Ruby floored the throttle as her opponent switched on the indicator.
"OK then. It all goes about reputation on the road. My car is pretty well-known here, just as The Black Thunder. Everybody were waiting for the race between the GTO and that Supra. They were saying that it will be a race-for-everything, that the loser will have to leave the highway as both cars were unbeatable so far. So, if the GTO loses this race, I'll have to quit highway driving."
"Don't say like that, it can't be that serious." Ruby smiled.
"But unfortunately it is. Now…" Adam blushed a bit. "I believe in you. If you were able to drift at Loop D1, then I believe that you can win this race. But I won't say a thing if you lose. I'm just glad that you're driving tonight. But if you don't want to race, just switch on the emergency lights, this will mean you're quitting the race." He smiled and looked back as they came out of the tunnel; they had some superiority.

Ruby looked at him. "Sweet thing. He doesn't care if I win or lose, and he doesn't force me to race." She blushed a bit as she looked at her friend. "But it's my first race, and what's more, with a professional opponent! Time to show them what I can do or my name isn't Ruby!" she shifted the gear and hit the throttle as they got into a tight turn.
What she didn't know, Adam noticed that Ruby blushed as she looked at him. He smiled to himself. "Whoah… looks like… Jesus! What are you thinking about?! Try to support her!" he slapped his face with his hands He wasn't sure of his feelings towards that girl – everything seemed to turn around now.
Suddenly, something slammed into the car's back. Adam looked back – Supra was trying to ram them off the road!
"Adam, is he trying to ram us off the road?!" Ruby was shocked as she pressed the throttle.
"Looks like it!" Adam looked at the speedometer; it was showing 325 km/h on 5th gear. "OK, Ruby, floor it, shift to six and let's get out of here, we can't let him ram us again!"
"Yes, sir!" Ruby laughed lightly and floored the pedal. The car accelerated strongly, and when the needles reached 340 km/h and 7500 RPM, she shifted the gear.
"Yes, we're losing him!" Adam looked back; the Supra started to fade away. But he was wrong – after a second, the black car passed them like the GTO was no match for him.
"I will NOT let him beat me!" Ruby floored the throttle. The engine roared and the car started to gain speed instantly. Adam looked at the speedometer; it was currently showing 365 km/h.
"Looks like she's gonna hit 400K!" he smiled.
"Come on, come on!" Ruby pressed the throttle harder despite it was floored already. "Where does the race finish?"
"We started on Bay Bridge, then its finish is at the city limits!" Adam replied.
"It's not far from here!" she whispered, shocked. But as she looked at the road, she smiled – she was just passing The Black Thunder!
"Yes! Only one turn more and we're – whooooooaaahh!" Ruby's happy exclamation turned into a terrified scream. As they were passing their opponent, they got into last sharp turn with 400 km/h on the speedometer. That's when the Supra got into an uncontrolled slide and hooked up GTO's back with its front, causing the silver car to drift.

Ruby quickly turned the wheel, trying to get the car back into the right position, but instead of it, the GTO started to drift on the whole width of the road.
Adam looked back; the Supra landed on the wall, crashing its front. Meanwhile, Ruby turned the wheel once again, but it was too late; they were facing the wall.
"Ruby, quick, turn again, brake and hit it again!" he shouted. Ruby did as he said. And it helped – the car got back to normal position with its mighty speed. The car went forward for a few minutes and it got off the highway through L7 descent, going back into the city.

The road was lit up by lamp posts, and all lights inside the houses were off. No people on the street. And only one vehicle moving on the road.
The silver Mitsubishi GTO stopped in front of a small, white house. Both doors opened. A blonde haired girl got out from the right, and a brown haired boy from the left.
"Yay! That was an experience!" Ruby exclaimed, stretching her arms upwards, while Adam immediately crouched next to his car's back to check out the bumper.
"Phew…" he sighed with relief. "Thankfully, there's no damage done to the car. The back's in one piece." He grinned to Ruby, who just turned around.
"Wow, this was something. My first night on the highway, my first time to drive and my first won race!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Adam laughed, walking up to the car's front and leaning against the hood. "I can say you've had an 'all inclusive' package." Both of them laughed. Ruby moved towards her house a bit, so that the moonlight was shining directly at her.
"Whoah… she looks cute at moonlight." Adam blushed a bit as he saw Ruby in moonlight. "But… nah, this can't be… or is it…? Who knows… time will settle this." Adam was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Ruby's voice.

"Adam… hey, Landors!" hearing his surname snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked at Ruby; she was still standing in the moonlight. "Yeah?"
"You think we can go out and repeat that drive sometimes?" Ruby smiled.
"Why not? In fact, you're a great driver, not to mention that you have skills that would blow many roadkillers away." Adam grinned. "And I still don't believe that was your first time behind the wheel."
"You have to believe me, Adam. This was the first time someone let me drive a car, especially with THAT power." Ruby walked up to him and took his hand into hers.
"Well then, how did you learn to drive like THAT, if it was your first time?" Adam asked with a grin; his hand gently squeezed Ruby's.
"Let's say I was observing the best." Ruby grinned, returning the hand squeeze. "And looks like it gave some effects if I won the race with The Black Thunder!"
"SOME effects?! Girl, you blew him away with my car! He didn't stand any chance against your skills!" Adam laughed, getting an amused eye roll from Ruby. "But, I have to say, if it weren't your skills, this car –" Adam patted the hood. "- would be in the car disposal already."
"Nah, saving us from a crash wasn't only my credit, you told me what to do." She blushed a bit.
"But YOU were the driver. And I don't know many people who can control a 930 HP car." Adam grinned and looked at his watch; it was 3:00 AM.
"Looks like I'm born to drive it." Ruby grinned and got even closer to Adam; both could notice they both were blushing a bit. Ruby leaned in and gave Adam a quick peck on the cheek, making them both beet red and confusing the young man.
"Thanks for the drive." She smiled, pulling a set of keys out of her pocket. Then she walked up to her house's stairs and opened the door. Before she entered the house, she turned around and waved to Adam. "I'll see you around, hotshot." She smiled.
"See you soon, Ruby." Adam waved back and smiled after he heard the door close. Then he got up from the hood and opened the door.
Revving up the engine, he knew this drive was a good one because of his relations with the blonde haired girl. Now, the question was, how long will the GTO survive when they start meeting with each other?
It didn't matter now. This was it. "It looks like we have a girl who wants to go out!" he thought and grinned, shifting into 1st gear and slowly driving away from her house.

The end

That was A Highway Drive. Thanks for reading.
This one was my longest one-chapter fic so far, hope you liked it.
I'll think about a sequel if you like, meanwhile please R&R.
Stay tuned for more stories soon!