| howsyourcoffeejesus |

"Are we seriously doing this right now?" Devin giggled.

"Yes," Ricky replied with a grin.

"I feel like I'm in some stupid teen movie," Devin responded.

"Hey, it's not really my fault that your dad 'doesn't approve' of me," Ricky chuckled slightly.

Ricky hopped into the driver's side of his car, taking a quick glance at his boyfriend, who was now in his passenger seat.

"Come on, trust me, this is gonna be fun," Ricky spoke softly.

"Yeah, until I get caught walking through the front door after curfew," Devin huffed.

"Just go back in through the window," Ricky said jokingly, earning him a scowl from the boy next to him. "Come on, just forget about your dad for a little while, it'll help you."

"I wish it was that simple," Devin sighed.

"Hey, if you're really that worried, just head back inside," Ricky told him with a sympathetic smile. "We can always go sneak around some other night, you know. Plus, the longer we both just sit out here, the quicker he'll realize I'm here," he joked.

"No, no, I wanna be with you tonight," Devin sighed. "I'd definitely rather spend the night with you than cooped up in my room all night."

"Now that's what I like to hear," Ricky smirked.

Ricky turned his key, which was already in the ignition, starting up his engine once more. He was quick to pull out of the driveway, of course, not particularly keen on getting caught sneaking Devin out of the house.

"So, where are we going, exactly?" Devin asked curiously as the shorter boy began to drive.

"Nowhere in particular," Ricky said with a shrug. "We're just gonna see where the night takes us, I suppose."

"That sounded so corny," Devin replied, a soft laugh following soon after.

"Oh, come on, you love it," Ricky teased.

Devin simply rolled his eyes, directing his attention back to the road ahead of them. Ricky seemed to be driving someplace out of town, unfamiliar to him. The longer he drove, the darker the world outside seemed to get.

The further out of town the pair drove, the less lights were present. It didn't take long for Ricky's headlights to be the only light source around besides the moon. The older boy decided that it might be a good choice to find a destination soon, rather than to continue driving in the darkness.

Of course, there weren't any interesting destinations to choose from where they were now. The aimless driving Ricky saw in the movies looked relaxing and romantic; this, though, wasn't quite like that. It just wasn't as nice as he was expecting it to be. Maybe it was because the sun had already set hours ago. Maybe it was because he chose the most boring area he knew of to drive through. Either way, it was starting to get quite dull to him.

Although it may not have been Ricky's best choice, the nearby woods were just calling his name. It may have been in his best interest to keep driving until he found somewhere more interesting, but Ricky decided that he had had enough driving the for the time being. On top of that, Devin almost looked like he was ready to fall asleep, and it wasn't even eleven o'clock yet. If he wanted to make the most of his time with his boyfriend, he needed to decide on something fast.

So, the woods it was.

Ricky pulled into a more bare area in the woods, leaves and twigs crunching underneath the wheels of his truck. The minor shaking of the vehicle was enough to snap Devin out of his tired daze, turning his head to look at the smaller boy.

"Where are we?" he asked Ricky softly.

"The woods," Ricky responded. "A little ways out of town."

"And what's there to do here in the middle of the night?" Devin questioned with a chuckle.

"I might have an idea or two," Ricky answered, smirking slightly. "I figured you might like it out here," he said. "Nice and secluded. No one will catch us together out here."

"I suppose that does relax me a little," Devin smiled.

Ricky leaned in closer to Devin, closing the gap between their lips. It was meant to be a simple peck, but neither of the boys wanted to stop there.

Devin smiled into the kiss, shifting in his seat, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy's shoulders. He deepened the kiss, Ricky's hands making their way to his waist, resting there as they continued.

Neither of the two wanted to stop, but Ricky felt the need to pull away soon enough, leaving Devin a bit confused.

"You okay, babe?" Devin asked softly.

"Yeah, yeah," Ricky nodded. "Hey, just give me a minute or two, and I'll be right back. We can pick up where we left off, yeah?"

"Sure," Devin replied. "I'll be waiting," he giggled jokingly.

Devin watched for a moment as Ricky walked away from the truck, then turned his head back to face the dark woods in front of him. For some reason, he just couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Ricky was just getting out to take a piss, Devin thought to himself. It'll just take a minute. He'll be back, and he'll be fine.

But apparently, Devin was lying to himself.

Two minutes had passed. This was longer than Devin was expecting Ricky to take, but he didn't think anything of it just yet. But, then it became three minutes. Then four.

Finally, after five minutes had passed, Devin began to worry. He sat there in the truck for another minute, his knee bouncing nervously as he waited for his lover to return. He looked out the window, then looked back at the digital clock once more. By now, seven minutes had passed.

He felt around his pocket for his phone, ready to text Ricky and ask if he was okay, only to find that he had left his phone on his bedside table at home. Devin mentally cursed himself for that stupid mistake. Now, if he was going to do anything about the situation, he would have to leave the safety of the truck.

Devin's fingers curled around the handle of the truck door. He waited another few seconds before opening the passengers' side door, placing his feet on the ground. He closed the door as quietly as possible, just to be safe. Devin then began to walk further away from the truck, leaves crunching beneath his feet as he ventured further into the woods in search of Ricky.

As he walked, Devin couldn't help but glance over his shoulder every now and again, just to make sure that nothing was lurking in the dark. Sure, it was a bit of a silly fear to some, but Devin wanted nothing more than to keep himself out of harm's way, no matter how foolish he may end up seeming.

Devin did his best to follow the direction he remembered seeing Ricky walk off in, but he couldn't get very far that way. After all, Ricky disappeared from his sight after just a few paces, and at this point, Devin couldn't be sure of where he could have gone to. He simply continued walking forward, hoping to see some sort of sign, to at least give him a hint to where exactly Ricky had gone.

Suddenly, a noise came from somewhere behind Devin. It was a minuscule noise, but a noise nonetheless. Devin whipped his head around to take a look behind him, his nerves starting to creep back up on him once more. At first glance, there was nothing there, but the longer he stood still and stared, Devin was able to see a figure that appeared to be a man in the shadows.

A gasp involuntarily escaped Devin's lips, as he turned his head back to face forward. He took a few breaths, trying to keep himself as calm as he could be in the situation. He then peeked behind him again, however, the mysterious man was no longer in his sights.

Somehow, the sudden disappearance of the man made him even more uneasy than knowing he was there. Now, assuming he was in these woods to begin with, that man could be anywhere. Devin shook his head to himself, deciding he needed to turn back, and head back to the truck where he started. Besides, who knew, maybe Ricky was back at the truck by now, wondering where he had wandered off to.

When Devin reached the truck once more, Ricky was still nowhere to be found. He contemplated trying to look around for him again, but he decided against it. It might not be safe out there, and Devin was more concerned with keeping himself alive than spending the night as a solo search party for his boyfriend, as much as he hated to admit it.

Just as he was starting to calm down, Devin could have sworn he saw the shadow of the same man from earlier. He held his breath momentarily, keeping his eye on it. He was about to look away, when he saw the figure move.

Without a second thought, Devin hopped into the drivers' seat of the car, ready to drive away if he needed to. Surely he could explain it to Ricky if he needed to make an escape of sorts, and he could easily come back for him when the sun rose. After all, it was quite late, and it wouldn't be long before the morning arrived.

His focus was torn away from the figure, however, when he began to hear a squeaking noise coming from somewhere. He couldn't quite tell where it was coming from, he only knew that it was close to him. Devin began to fidget in his seat, the noise only increasing his worry.

Devin did what he could to tune out the sound, and focus back on the man in the shadows. The figure moved once again, seemingly getting closer to the truck, and that was the only signal Devin needed to tell him he needed to get out of there. He would make it up to Ricky somehow, he just needed to get away from these woods.

Devin started the truck's engine, putting it into gear. He spotted a clearing not too far away, and he was confident that the truck could make it through. He took a deep breath, then slammed on the gas.

The only problem, however, was that the truck didn't move. Sure, it lurched forward a bit, but it was still stuck in the same spot that it was when Ricky first pulled in.

Devin groaned, doing his best to not automatically assume the worst. He just needed to keep his cool until either Ricky returned, or he could get the truck to actually get going. He sat still for a moment, surveying the area from the truck's windshield, making sure that the unknown figure was nowhere to be seen. He wanted to try to inspect the truck, at least, but he sure as hell wasn't planning on doing it if some creep was nearby in the darkness of the surrounding woods.

After hopping out of the truck, not caring about slamming the door shut this time, Devin quickly found his problem. A rope had somehow been tied to the truck's rear bumper. He had no clue as to how it got there, and he wasn't exactly in the state to question it properly either. Upon further examination, Devin concluded that the rope had also been tied to a tree. He simply let out a huff, and rather than attempting to look for any sort of clues, Devin just got back in the truck once again.

At this point, Devin just didn't know what to do. By now, it had been almost a half hour since Ricky had left the truck, and he still had absolutely no idea where he could've gone. And now, Devin was stuck in the middle of the woods by himself, with some mysterious figure hiding away in the darkness.

He needed to try again. He had to get out of there.

Devin slammed on the gas again. The truck moved a bit this time, however, he also heard a scream. Devin himself shrieked as he heard that sound, freezing in place, cupping his hands over his face.

Someone was out there.

Devin weighed his options, before briskly getting out of the truck again. He was ready to just make a run for the clearing up ahead, but was quick to stop in his tracks when he noticed something dangling above, not too far behind him.

He stepped closer to the tree that the truck had been tied to, looking up to the branches. There was a body hanging there, a body that he recognized all too well.

He had finally found Ricky.

Devin couldn't react. He was too shocked to even cry. His thoughts were running a mile a minute through his head. It was now registering properly, what that squeaking noise was, atop the truck. It had been Ricky's shoes, rubbing the top of the truck, from where he was hung above it.