A/N: This is the first chapter of Road Trip Part 1: The Past. Hopefully I get to continue this story. As of now, I've just finished two chapters. I'm not good in summaries, so I'll end it there. Please R&R. Thanks.

Road Trip

By battousai24 and kido

Part I: The Past

Chapter 1

Rei, Chris, Chi and Li were on their way to pick up their girlfriends and go to New Orleans. They rented a van. Rei and Chi took turns in driving. It was Chi's turn first. Rei positioned himself in the front seat with Chi and began to read a book. Chris and Li were in the middle and back seat sleeping comfortably. It was traffic and it was raining. From the looks of it, it would only be 10 minutes before they pick up the girls. Chi nudged Rei and asked him to call the girls and say they'd be there in about 10 to 15 minutes. Rei immediately called them. They'd pick them all up at Rikka's place.

Driving up the road and parking in front of the gate, Chi nudged Rei again. Chi and Rei together woke up their two friends. It was 5 am. The four friends pressed the button for the doorbell. A few minutes later, they were inside and bringing the girls' bags to the van. They put it at the very back and started seating themselves.

Chi and Rei still sat in front, while Mia, Genevieve, Therese and Chris were in the middle seats. Li and Rikka stayed at the back. Chi yawned and tried to focus his droopy eyes on the road. Rei began reading his book again and the others at the back busied themselves with stories.

An hour or so had passed and they stopped to eat. Chi and Rei just finished and went outside the restaurant for a smoke. Chi lent his lighter to Rei and soon the two finished 3 sticks each. Chi took a glance at the van and saw someone inside. He told Rei that he saw a girl sitting there. Rei didn't believe him since the car was locked, but checked it anyway.

Rei sighed and faced Chi. "I told you no one's in here." Chi shook his head and insisted that he saw someone. "Stop playing tricks on me." Rei walked away and Chi was forced to accept the fact that he was wrong and his mind was playing tricks on him again.

Rei went inside the restaurant; followed by a confused Chi. Rei sat down beside Genevieve and Chi beside Mia. Mia sat on Chi's lap and wrapped her arms around him but Chi was deep in thought. Genevieve and Rei started kissing while Chris and Therese stared at them and turned to the also making out Li and Rikka. They looked at each other and raised an eyebrow and continued eating.

Mia looked at Chi. He was staring blankly at the air. She waved her hands in front of his face, but nothing happened. He was still deep on thought. 'I know I saw that girl', he thought silently. "What girl?" Mia asked him. Chi snapped out of his trance and stared at Mia. He had thought silently, but not as silent as he thought. Chi shook his head and said, "No, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." He tried to put a smile on. Mia looked at him seriously and said, "What girl? Are you seeing someone else?" Chi laughed slightly and shook his head. "No, of course not." Mia still insisted to know who the girl was and got Rei's attention. He pulled away from Genevieve and smirked. "Chi told you it's nothing. And it really is. Don't worry about it, okay?" Mia nodded and turned back to Chi. He was back in his trance. Rei smirked again and thought, 'It's nothing. I hope.'

The group of friends left the restaurant and went back to the car. Still being Chi's turn, he walked toward the driver's seat. He looked blankly inside. He still saw the girl sitting between the two seats in front where he and Rei sat. "Hey, Chi! Get in." Rei called out. He smirked again and rolled his eyes. The others started seating themselves and it was only Chi left outside. He looked back inside the car. The girl was gone. He shook his head and said to himself, "I have to stop seeing things."

Time passed by swiftly. It was almost 8 pm. Chi was still driving. Everyone else was asleep. He took glances at the rear view mirror from time to time. It was getting dark. Chi was concentrating on driving when out of nowhere a blurry white figure appeared in the middle of the road. He tried to stop the car but it was too late. He pulled over and checked it out. He saw no one. After a few minutes of looking for the body, he finally went back into the car and continued his driving.

After a few miles, he was getting sleepier. He took another glance at the rear view mirror. The sight shocked him. The same girl was sitting at the back seat where Li and Rikka stayed. He thought the girl looked familiar and it wasn't just because he saw her during the day. He shook his head and looked again. She was still there. He suddenly stopped the car and shook Rei. Rei woke up and glared at Chi. "What the hell do you want?" Rei shouted. Chi told him to look at the back seat. Rei rolled his eyes and looked. "There's nothing there, Chi. Now, drive." Rei tried to go back to sleep again. Chi still nudged Rei. "I'm telling you! There's a girl there!" Rei dismissed Chi and made himself feel comfortable. Chi still insisted on Rei. Rei got annoyed and told Chi to sleep instead of him and he would be the one to drive. His friend finally agreed after a lot of persuasion.

Now getting ready to sleep, Chi pulled the blanket over his body. He laid his head on the small pillow he brought. The cool air from the aircon made him shiver but he liked it. He soon fell into a deep sleep. Rei smirked as he noticed Chi sleeping. He took a glance at the rear view mirror. 'I wonder what's happening to him.' He thought. 'No one's at the back seat except Li and Rikka.' He concentrated on the dark road. It started raining again. He checked the gas, it was still okay, but he'd have to find a gas station the next day just in case.