Car rides. I hate them. But there weren’t any airports near her town so there was nothing for it. Nobody seemed to be too curious about a lone teenage boy with nothing but a bag slung over his shoulder. It was better that way. The only one I wanted to notice me was her. Everything about my trip was wrong. I shouldn’t be driving on my own. I shouldn’t be doing what I was about to do. I shouldn’t even be here. Within a few hours, I would be a fugitive. I didn’t want any trouble before I needed it. The sun was sinking low in the sky. Perfect. I would be in Susanville soon. Right on cue, my phone rang. I answered it.

“Hello?”

“You sound tense. I hope you’ll be more relaxed when you come to kidnap me”

“I’m not used to driving… the last thing I need is to get pulled over. Especially now I’m so close”

“Oh really? How close?”

“Just entered Susanville I’ll be at your house soon.”

“Excellent! See you soon then, love!”

“I love you, Jenna!”

“I love you too, Gabe!”

I hung up and, suppressing a mad urge to hug the steering wheel, drove off. I’m going to see her soon! I suppressed my excitement. She was right. I needed to keep cool for this job. Even when the victim is willing, kidnapping is a bitch. And after all, I had to make it convincing.

I drove up to the house she had told me. One window was lit up. Hers. I suppressed a shudder. I couldn’t believe what I was about to do. Don’t think. Act. I took my bag and closed the car door softly. This part was crucial. I had to screw up just enough so they knew how she had disappeared but careful enough so I wasn’t caught. I reached into my bag and pulled out a narrow strip of metal, which I slipped into the crack just above the lock on her door. I then slid a hairpin into the lock and began to push the pins up and out of the way. The lock clicked and the door opened. I was inside! I crept through the halls until I got to her bedroom door. I opened it quietly.

“Sleeping beauty, I presume?” I said dryly

She sat bolt upright. She looked so happy. “Gabe! You came! I can’t believe it!”

“Keep your voice down” I hissed. She got up out of bed and hugged me. part of my mind was still focused on the task at hand but the rest wanted to just stand there forever. Five months, we’d been made to wait. Five long months. I wanted nothing more then to hold her for awhile. Plenty of time for that once you’re in the car. “Let’s go” I said, reluctantly pulling away. As we got back to her front door, I produced a very different tool. I inserted the end into the lock mechanism, turned the crank and… CRACK! The lock sprang open.

She looked up at me. “Subtle. Real subtle.”

I nodded. “Isn’t that kind of the idea? Let’s get going.”

CHAPTER TWO

“Sir, you’re going to have to be patient with us. It’s quite late.”

“Look,” I said, rather harsher then I would have liked, “I don’t see what the trouble is.”

“Well, you see, you’re underage”

“That shouldn’t be an issue. It’s not like I’m buying cigarettes or liquor. I just want a room.” I glared resolutely at the clerk who glared, just as resolutely back.

“It’s well beyond closing time.” Whose problem is that? Jenna was waiting in the car. She made me melt and I needed my wits about me. Besides that, if you were a hotel clerk, would you honestly give a hotel room to a teenage couple in the middle of the night?

“I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t think I can help you.” Yes you can.

“Look, you and I are both tired and we both want to get to bed. I’m not asking much. I plan on checking out in the morning anyway.” It was so simple. We both wanted the same thing. He wanted to get rid of me and I wanted to get rid of him. Sometimes you can be working at cross purposes and not even know it.

“Fine. You can have 211 but only tonight.”

“Goodnight” I smirked. I had finally won. At least, I thought so until I saw the news on the small television behind the desk.

“…and here’s a story hot off the wire. Fourteen year old, Jenna Fluke of Susanville, California has been abducted from her home at approximately eleven o’clock tonight.” My girlfriend’s beautiful face filled the screen. “When the girl’s mother heard the sound of the lock on the door being broken, she rushed downstairs only to watch the kidnapper’s car speeding away. She immediately alerted the local authorities. Police are convinced careful planning went into this unthinkable crime but are as yet unsure as to the kidnapper’s motives. No ransom note has been found. The police can only hope for the kidnapper to contact them. if you have any information leading to the capture of this dangerous criminal and the safe return of the girl he has kidnapped, police are encouraging you to come forward.” I glared at the screen. ‘Dangerous criminal’ am I? Commit an “unthinkable crime” did I?

When I got back to the car, Jenna was waiting with her face pressed against the window. “You look good on TV.” I said before she could say anything. She paled

“Wh-what?!” She stammered

“Your pretty face was on the news. The general populace knows you’ve been kidnapped now.” I told her dully

“Shit! Now what?”

“We move carefully. When we’re in the open, you have to act like you hate me. We can’t risk you getting in trouble if I’m captured.”

She looked at me incredulously “Me getting in trouble!? You’ll be tossed in jail! I won’t let that happen no matter what happens to me!”

“You can tell them the truth if I tell you to, ok? I don’t want it to come to that though. I love you too much” I kissed her forehead

“You’re sweet,” She smiled at me “I couldn’t ask for a better kidnapper.” We both laughed.

“Well apparently I’m a “dangerous criminal” so you had better watch your back around me or I’ll shank you!”

Her face assumed a look of mock surprise. “Oh my! You wouldn’t do anything like that to a poor defenseless girl would you, Gabe?”

“Relax, I’ll teach you how to deal with “dangerous criminals” like me. If they go for you, you just grab them like this!” I hugged her. She laughed and wrapped her arms around me.

“Did you get us a room, Gabe?”

I nodded. “Come on, the clerk should be gone by now.” I grabbed her hand and together, we went up to our room.

“Some days,” I remarked as I opened the door, “people really piss me off. It took me close to an hour to get us a room at all and now he sticks us in this fucking broom closet.”

“All we need is a place to sleep though, right? The bed is all we need.”

“You seem awfully chipper for someone whose just been kidnapped.” I knew I wasn’t holding onto my frustration as well as I should have. That amber alert pissed me off more then it should have.

“Well I’m in love with my kidnapper! How can I not be happy?” Her eyes were bright and I could tell she was enjoying herself. “You need to chill out. You’ve been doing great, Gabe.” Yeah she knew exactly how to calm me down. “Everything has been perfect. You deserve a rest.” She kicked off her shoes and flopped down on the bed grinning. It suddenly dawned on me that this was the only way it could be. We needed each other for this and we needed this for each other.

“I love you, Jenna” and I flopped down next to her. “I told you that lately?”

“Oh I don’t know if I’d go for a “dangerous criminal” type,” she laughed, “after all, I simply cannot stand kidnappers!” She kissed me. “So what time are we heading out tomorrow?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I sighed and hugged her again. This time I opted not to let go, “eight or nine I guess.”

“Then we should be sleeping like, right now?”

“Pretty much. G’night, love.” I sounded tired. I wasn’t though. Not remotely. She dropped off to sleep almost at once but I stayed awake just holding her. She looked so peaceful… So beautiful… I felt myself drifting off. Her face slid in and out of focus. I was holding her close. We were standing in my house. Home at last. Then suddenly people came out of everywhere and started pulling her away. I tried to maintain my grip on her but they were too strong. She was ripped away from me.

“Jenna!! Give her back, you bastards!!”

“Wake up, Gabe!”

“I said give her back! She loves me!” They were all laughing at me in Jenna’s voice. Mocking me.

“Wake up! Wake up, Gabe!” I sat bolt upright. Jenna was standing next to the bed, fully dressed and laughing. “They want us out of here. We should get going.”

“R-right,” I said, embarrassed, “how soon do we need to be out of here? What time is it?”

CHAPTER THREE

I was officially sick of driving. My legs were seizing up, my fingers were going numb on the steering wheel and the entire car was hot and uncomfortable. Endless farms and orchards stretched out along the freeway. It seemed we would never get to the end.

“Where are we going, anyway?” Jenna asked in a sleepy sort of voice.

“SFO. It’s usually hella busy so the workers will be too occupied to look for you. You can bet your ass there was another broadcast this morning.”

I felt the soft brush of her hair against my exposed neck and the gentle weight of her head on my shoulder. “Hey, Gabe? What will you do if you are caught?”

“I’ll maintain I kidnapped you as long as I can.” I turned and kissed her forehead. “I want to avoid you getting in trouble if I can.”

She smiled dryly “Gabe, I think trouble goes way beyond what you’ll be in if we’re caught. Try prison.”

I just nodded. I was trying not to think about it. “There it is. San Francisco. We should be at the airport soon. Once we’re in Denver, the cops’ll be off us. They can’t know where I took you.”

“I’m glad you have a plan.” She grinned

“You honestly think I’d leave this to chance? And risk you getting taken away from me forever? Fuck that! I bought the tickets with cash under a fake name, The car belongs to my cousin and I pulled 72 solid hours practicing my lock picking.”

“So tell me, fearless leader, what’s next?”

I looked over at her questioning stare; then had to tear my eyes away to avoid a possible collision. Those big, blue eyes could suck you right in. “Well we dump the car at the airport where my cousin can pick it up again. Then we catch our flight and get the hell out of… here.” California was beginning to irritate me. “Once we get to Denver, we’ll meet up with Andy and Amanda. I’ve told my mother I’m at a party at Amanda’s house so he should be covering for me. We’ll leave you in the stoner house.”

“Why can’t I stay with you?”

“You tell me how I’m gonna explain how my girlfriend spontaneously got to Denver . Mom might get a bit suspicious.”

She laughed. “Well its not like she doesn’t have any reason to be suspicious.” She kissed me “I mean, it’s us!” I started laughing too

“Why, Jenna!” I said in mock surprise, “To even suggest such things is-“

“-exactly what you were thinking” she grinned

“That’s beyond the point” We both laughed. I felt a wave of pure happiness wash over me. We were finally together. Nobody could keep us apart again. That police roadblock might have a good try.

“Shit!” I hit the steering wheel. “How would they know we were going to SFO?”

“Maybe they were thinking along the same lines you were. Want me to hide in the back?” She undid her seatbelt.

“No. even if you weren’t there, I only have a learners permit. I shouldn’t even be driving. We need to think of a- Shit!!” The line of cop cars in front of us had just become red-hot with lights. “Jenna! Duck!” but it was too late. The cops had recognized her. We were fucked.

“STEP OUT OF THE VEHICHLE!” came the voice over the loudspeaker.

“Jenna, you need to act like I took you against your will, got it?” Tears streaked her face. I bit my lip to keep from crying at the mere sight. I could hardly bare it

“What? No! That will get you in trouble!”

“YOU ARE SURROUNDED. LET THE GIRL GO AND STEP OUT OF THE VEHICHLE!”

“Jenna, you need to trust me! Do you promise?”

“Gabe, I can’t!” It ate me up to see her like that.

“Jenna, I can save both of us. Just trust me! Please!”

“Ok.” This was costing her a huge effort, I could tell.

“I love you, Jenna. Remember that.”

Her eyes widened as I jerked the door open and threw myself out. I landed painfully on the hot pavement. Then my world was a blur of blue and black. A glint of metal. Then nothing.

CHAPTER FOUR

Ow my fucking head. How long have I been out? Where am I? What happened to the cops? Jenna! If those bastards hurt her I’ll-

“Hey look! He’s coming around! What did you say his name was?” That was a cop’s voice.

“Ryan. Ryan Taylor.” Jenna! That was her voice! She was ok! I opened my eyes and looked at her. She was as beautiful as ever. “He asked me out a couple times. Last time, he said I would be his no matter what.” Her story was so convincing, I almost believed it myself.

“Well, we can’t say we aren’t relieved. We were expecting some kind of sick child molester.”

She smiled weakly. “Look, can we have a moment alone? We need to straighten some things out.”

“Of course. You’ve been through a lot.” The cops walked out of the room

The instant the door closed, the look of dislike melted into worry. “Gabe! Are you ok?”

“M’fine…” I muttered. “What happened?”

“The cops took your car down to the impound and drove me down here. Gabe this is getting too dangerous. I’m thinking about telling the truth.”

I sat bolt upright. My vision whited out for a second or two. “No! that won’t help at all. All that’ll do is get us both down for obstruction of justice!”

“Well do you have an alternative?”

“N-no…” I glared at the bars. There always seemed to be something standing in between us. A million miles of nothing or a quarter of an inch of iron. She looked so sad. “C’mere” I forced my face into what I hoped was a reassuring smile and pulled her against me. the bars couldn’t stop us. Nothing could.

Suddenly, the door behind us clicked. “Struggle” I told her on a sudden inspiration. she obliged, making quite a presentation of it, just as the cop walked in. He saw exactly what he wanted to see. this “dangerous criminal” was attacking the girl that he’d just finished “rescuing”. He couldn’t have that. He pulled out his taser and aimed it straight at me. I jumped back at just the right time. the hooks caught the pillow which took on an oddly cartoonish appearance. I, meanwhile, grabbed the wire and pulled, retrieving the taser just as Jenna got him solidly in the temple. He darted over to the lockdown button but before he could press it, I got him square in the back with the taser. He fell to the ground, twitching horribly as I squeezed the trigger. “Sweet, sweet irony. Get his keys, would you, love?”

She grinned. “And to think I was about to turn us in.

The cell clanged open. “subtle…” I remarked “we should get going”

CHAPTER FOUR

Jenna and I had been going out ever since Christmas. I had a bunch of friends in California due to my ex, Rebecca. Our relationship ended with all the carnage you would expect. You might call it a blaze of glory, but I call it a debacle. I withdrew from almost everybody. there were three people in the world that I trusted to any extent at all. Andy, Amanda and Warren. We were the Dark Circle. A motley crew of stoners and rebels fueled by ramen, caffeine and anger. The only hangup was this: everyone was in love with Amanda. Warren in particular took it way too far and fucked the entire Dark Circle up. Andy had gone out with her before so he knew it wouldn’t work out and I kept a good reign on my feelings. Then, when school started, Amanda stopped hanging out with us as much. she kept getting grounded and after that she just… stopped. the Dark circle had stagnated. We had no purpose. that is, until we decided Jenna needed this. It’s one thing to talk shit, but quite another to talk shit about your step-daughter. Jenna and I had a running joke that I was going to kidnap her someday. sometime in March, some things were said that couldn’t be forgiven. We’d been planning the kidnapping ever since then.

Two dark shapes lurked at the exit to Denver International Airport. One was male with shiny black hair that went down past his shoulders. The other was female with the not-quite-arrogance of someone used to being the object of others’ affection.

“Where the fuck are them two lovebirds?” asked the boy in a low voice like sandpaper.

“They should have been here awhile ago.” muttered the girl. In contrast, her voice was high, smooth and decidedly female. Like everything else about her thought the boy with an inward smirk.

“This sucks. Curfew was half an hour ago.” He looked sideways at her. “If his dumb ass was caught…”

Amanda looked up at the sky. “That plane that came in a couple minutes ago. I wonder if it was them…” Her voice betrayed worry.

“It was.” I said. Jenna and I had just walked up.

Andy fought to conceal the relief in his face. Amanda was grinning with the air of a convict on death row during a power outage. “Ga!!” she said, hugging me. “Ga” was, supposedly, my nickname. only she used it though. “You’re Jenna, then?” she asked, hugging her too.

“No, Amanda. I must have misplaced her. This is a flight attendant I met on the way.

“Hey, numb-nuts.” Andy smirked. “Sure took you two long enough. Stay up too late getting acquainted last night?”

Now a normal girl might have taken offense at that. Jenna just grinned wickedly and said “Oh yeah. Gabe’s great in bed.”

“Damn straight! I can sleep for days.” Everyone broke down laughing.

“You’re gonna like this” said Andy as we piled into my mom’s car. He produced a shining key from his pocket.

“Oh fuck yeah! That’s to the stoner house isn’t it?” The stoner house was an abandoned house next door to mine. We’d been trying to get inside since Febuary. I’d measured every last pin in each lock on that damn house. Ever since I began planning this kidnaping, I’d made locks my bitch. The crank-like device I used back at Jenna’s was my own invention.

“My uncle’s a locksmith,” Amanda said, “I distracted him while Andy made us a key.”

“That thing is a bitch to work. I had to put each measure in manually!” Andy said bitterly

“Two, two-point-five, point-five, one, three, two.” I muttered, examining the key. “One-two slots.”

“Eyes on the road, dillhole!” Amanda yelled.

I felt Jenna’s head on my shoulder again and looked sideways at her. “You asleep, love?”

“Mmmmhmmm” I grinned. I couldn’t help myself. I turned my head and kissed the top of her head.

Jenna couldn’t sleep. She was all alone in a strange house. The whole place felt cold and empty. She missed the warmth beside her she had become accustomed to. She could see his house out of her window. I guess he’s already asleep she thought sadly. I know why I have to hide here, but… I hate it! She wanted to be beside him again. But his mother would wake up and find them lying together. She suppressed a giddy shudder at the thought. Fuck fate, she thought, it’s always something, isn’t it, you stupid bitch?

“Jenna?” That was his voice! She looked at the door where I stood in shadow, grinning. “I can’t sleep.”

I crawled onto the bed and she held me against her. The way it’s supposed to be. I knew we were both thinking it.

CHAPTER FIVE