Summary: Seventeen-year-old Jess has a crisis that she just can't handle and runs away. But her chosen path will lead her into the life of a stranger on a mission to contact his estranged father. When they travel together they each learn a lot about each other, themselves and humanity in general. This is one road-trip that neither will ever forget.

A/N: Believe me, I KNOW that summary sucks. It really does. But just try this story, it's better than it sounds. It's a film I'm hoping to make in the future. I have an actor in mind for one of the parts, but so far that's a secret. The story is set in the mid-west USA. I am not from America, so I might get some facts a bit muddled. Correct me if I'm wrong on anything! Please review. This story is dedicated to my best friend, Jessie, who's name I stole. Loves you, girl!

Claimer: I certify that the following piece of writing is entirely my own, and that I have full copyright to it. If you steal it I will burn you. DO NOT repost without my EXPRESS permission. Thank you.

Road Trip With A Stranger, by The-Truth-Will-Strike-You-Down

Chapter 1 - The Decision

Casey Brown will die, he will die.

That liar, that slimy, evil, boastful little piece of shit.

He told them what? I did what to him? How could he even dare. I hope he burns in hell for this. Now nobody at school respects me. My friends have all turned on me, the boys all yell snide remarks at me, even the teachers seem to know, somehow. Mrs Jacobs gave me the filthiest look this morning. I hadn’t even know what he’d been saying yet.

God, I can’t stand this! I can’t…

I was standing in my bedroom, my hands on either side of my head as though if I let go it would explode with the force of my rage.

I had had a crush on Casey Brown for about a year. He was seventeen, a few months older than me, quite tall and muscular. He was on the football team, a quarterback. All the girls liked him, really, but my crush was verging on embarrassing, even for me. I kept it as subtle as I could, but still all my friends knew.

Apparently one of them wasn’t such a good friend after all. He had found out, and used the knowledge to spread rumours that had boosted his street cred while simultaneously crushing mine to oblivion.

Like I would let my mouth get anywhere near his…

The worst part was they had all believed him. All my friends. Even my best friend, Megan. She hadn’t even given me a chance to deny the claims. They all knew about my obsession, so I guess they all figured I would. They thought I had such little pride, such low self-esteem, I would…

No.

I can’t think about it anymore.

I will get through this.

I wiped away my tears of rage and sat down at my desk. Glancing at the wall in front of me my eye was caught by a picture from my last birthday.

Me and my Dad, Ben. I grimaced, hoping to God word hadn’t reached him yet of my alleged fall from grace.

He was not the touchy-feely, baring-my-soul type. We didn’t have deep, philosophical chats about love and sex and the differences therein.

No, that was Megan’s territory. She was the mother hen of my friends, keeping us all on the straight and narrow. Some people might think of her as boring, or unadventurous. We all knew she was really a very sensible person.

When Dad found out…

No, he would not find out. He couldn’t. But then he wouldn’t believe it, would he? He would have faith in his daughter, his only child.

Right?

SLAM.

“Jess!”

Oh no. Please, no.

“Get down here right now, young lady!”

Lady? Is he kidding? Has he not heard what they’re saying?

I pushed myself up from my desk and trudged down the stairs, the tears already blossoming in my eyes once more.

I entered the living room.

“Dad?” My voice was quieter than I had meant, and there was a raw quality to it.

He turned to face me, hands on his hips, and just stared at me for a moment. I felt unfounded humiliation well up in me, the guilty child instinct kicking in.

What? What? I haven’t even done anything, why do I feel so mortified?

“Do you want to explain what the kid at the gas-station said to me today?”

Gary West. He worked the pump at Littlebrook’s only gas-station. One of his friends.

“What did he say?” I asked, masochistically. I could guess.

“He-” Ben’s face was red now. His polite little brain would be going into overdrive trying to think of a way to put this delicately. A hard enough task even if he wasn’t this furious. “He suggested… He insinuated that you… you did something for Casey Brown.”

The name alone made my blood boil with shame and hatred. I felt my teeth set and my jaw clamp tightly shut. Ben misinterpreted my stony expression as guilt.

“Do you have any idea how it feels to listen to people talk about someone you love with such disrespect? Can you even imagine how ashamed I feel right now?”

I was shocked. He did believe it, and just as easily. God, did no one have any faith in my moral code?

“How ashamed you feel?” I couldn’t stop the anger from seeping into my voice. My blinding rage at Casey was slowing my thought processes. I couldn’t even think enough to deny the accusations.

“How could you, Jess? Your actions have smeared not only your own reputation, but my name and credibility as well! How could you? Why would you even think of degrading yourself like that? Were you drunk?”

Again, shock ran through me and my mouth flew open in blank surprise. “What? No, Dad! How could you even think-”

“I don’t know what to think right now, Jess! I don’t know what to feel.”

And suddenly the anger was back, but this time it was directed at my Dad, along with all my so-called friends.

“Well why don’t you just kick me out then?”

That took the wind out of Ben's sails.

“What?”

I ignored him and turned, running back up to my room. Even as the words had escaped my mouth I had made up my mind.

I would leave anyway.

A/N: Hey, thanks for reading. Sorry for the short chapter. The next SHOULD be longer. No promises as to when it'll be out, but soon hopefully. Sooner if you review, I promise! If you review you get to choose a reward. Remember, you don't have to have an account to review! xxx