“Oh, for fuck’s sake!”

You hear the muffled shout of frustration of your enemy, Matt, outside, looking in the hood of his car, which was smoking.

You two were driving together—not willingly of course—but Nick, Chris and your older brother already took up the back seat of your friend’s car, so you were forced to drive solo with Matt. Your friend group was going on a vacation down in Texas and you and your brother got invited by Nick. You only agreed because him and Chris would be there and you wouldn’t have to talk to Matt.

Because he did NOTHING but piss you off.

Whether it was poking and prodding at you, or getting mad at you over stupid shit—it was always something.

Ever since 6th grade when he told the entire grade about your crush, and you retaliated back with the same info about him.

It was a stupid interaction, but over the years the hatred continued to build.

But both of you couldn’t deny—there was always some underlying tension between you—a feeling neither of you would admit out loud but were very aware of its presence.

Before this, the drive was normal. Gas was around half, AC was flowing fine—until it suddenly started to sputter, causing Matt to pull over—not without grumbling something under his breath—probably a string of curses, before getting out and checking it out.

You look up from your phone when the drivers side door finally opens,

“Fuckin’ engine blew… no way I can fix that bullshit…” Matt informs, before groaning and re-approaching the hood just to slam it out of anger.

“Of course this fuckin’ happens now.”

It was afternoon and you two were now stuck in New Mexico, surrounded by desert, where it was roughly 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with no way to call anyone due to the non-existent signal.

You sit in the now-stuffy car, watching as Matt approaches the still-open door again,

“You got a signal yet?” he asks, raising a slight eyebrow as he dips his head down tiredly to look at you.

When you shake your head, he clenches his jaw in an irritated manner,

“Alright,” he starts, leaning in further to grab an unopened water bottle from inside the center console, before leaning back again, his head still dipped,

“You just gonna fuckin’ sit there and get cooked or are ya gonna come walk with me to try and find help?”

His hair sticks to his forehead a bit due to the sweat beading down it. He was panting slightly, his lips slightly parted, the sun already getting to him as he waits for your response.