A Trip Down Memory Lane (Gabriel)

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Six AM was so early. So freaking early. Kiara was awake though! Heck, she had even gotten out an hour before planned just to go through her suitcase again to make sure everything needed was in there. She had only done that twice the night before, so a third time definitely could not hurt. In addition to that, sandwiches were made. Some with ham, some with cheese, others with chocolate paste or even eggs. Those were wrapped in aluminum and neatly placed in the small cooler that she had placed in the middle of the kitchen. Soon fruit juices in carton boxes (the kind kids were given with them to school) were put in there as well, along with bottles of water. And fruit. And cookies. God knows when all of that would come in handy, right? Even with the cooler practically full, her mind was still mulling on what else could be puzzled in it.

After that, a quick refreshing shower had been taken. While the blonde had every intention to stay awake in the car, afraid that sleeping might affect Gabriel’s level of awareness, the outfit that was put on afterwards was the pure translation of comfort. With the jogging pants and hoodie (since it was still rather chilly this early), there was a chance she would doze off. A note was left for Henry to not forget to feed Shelby and to clean her litterbox, and then ten more minutes were spent petting and hugging and cooing at the cat. Kisses were placed on the feline’s small head before the suitcase and cooler were dragged into the hallway. Then she locked the door and got both items in the elevator, only to have to carry them out again once she reached the ground floor.

By then Kiara almost regretted her choice of outfit, but the second a foot was placed outside, she was quickly reminded as to why this decision had been made. Much to her relief, Gabe just happened to pull up in front of the building as she placed down the food-filled plastic box. And by the time the man stepped out of the vehicle, Ki was already dragging the luggage to the trunk. Perhaps it would be easiest to place the cooler behind her seat, so that it would be easy to reach.

“Good morninngg!” The blonde mused, probably more cheerful than was sane at this time of the day. She might be all awake now, the question was how long it would take before being tired would hit her like a train of bricks.

[Gabriel James]

6 AM was nothing to Gabe, not today. He'd made enough trips down to the children's hospital in Delaware that he knew how to prepare himself for the drive. He went to bed inhumanly early the night before, and he was awake and ready to leave by 5 - dressed in a pair of comfortable jeans, a purple v-neck tee, and his black faux-leather jacket. He was too excited to see McKenna to sleep any longer, anyway. But he waited to leave his apartment due to the fact that he told Kiara he'd pick her up at 6. He was quite excited to have the company this weekend - a luxury he usually didn't have on the long trips to visit Kenna.

He loaded his trunk with his duffle bag, and McKenna's (very much belated) birthday present. He threw his large binder full of his CD collection into the backseat, and made his way over to Kiara's apartment - pulling up just a couple minutes after 6am. Kiara was just coming out of the building, luggage and a cooler in hand. He rushed out of his car to open the tunk and help Ki with her bags. "Good morning to you too," he replied to Kiara cheerfully, taking Kiara's luggage from her so he could put it in the trunk. "You're quite chipper this morning," Gabe noted with a smile, as he closed the trunk, as Kiara loaded the cooler into the back seat.

"You didn't need to bring food," Gabe noted, his tone grateful nonetheless. He opened the passenger side door for Kiara, always the gentleman. "I appreciate it though," he said, leaning on the top of the car door. "I appreciate you coming too. And getting up so early for me," Gabe said with a laugh and a smile.

[Deleted]

Kiara was not one to have a bad mood in the morning. Usually it would take her a bit to decently wake up, but given she was looking forward to this trip, it was easy for her to muster some energy. Her witty remarks were awake as well and the first of that day came in response to his notification of her current mood. “Quite a difference compared to my brother, huh?” With a little groan, she shoved the cooler into the car and then slammed the door closed. For a second she wanted to joke about having thought he would bring his own food, but that was quite rude. Besides, the girl cherished his gratitude too much.

Slipped into the vehicle after Gabe had opened the passenger side, blue eyes settled on Gabe while blindly buckling up. “Thank you for asking me to come.” Kiara figured that he could have asked her brother instead. Technically that would make more sense, but surely she was overthinking this and the reasoning behind it was very simple. Nevertheless, a gentle smile settled on her lips as she tore her gaze away. “No charging me for possible therapy costs that you might end up with after this trip though.” The joke was accompanied with a tiny nervous chuckle, yet it was doubtful Gabe might distinguish it as one.

When he slammed the door, she was careful to keep her hand away from it and leaned forward to take off the Converses. No smelly feet, so surely Gabriel would have no objections. “Do they know we are coming?” She asked. Another question, however, was more important. “And, um, did you tell Ev?”

[Gabriel James]

"Oh you're a dream compared to your brother," Gabriel remarked with a roll of his eyes as Ki slipped into the passenger's seat. "I highly doubt the therapy I'll need after 8 hours in a car with you will even compare to what'd I'd need if I woke Everett up this early." Niether Gabriel nor Everett were particularly morning people. Gabe made exceptions though. Everett... not so much. Gabriel closed the door and walked around the the driver's side, slipping into the car and turning the key in the ignition.

"Jen and McKenna are both aware of our plans to visit... though Ken doesn't really understand the concept of time and was upset because she thought I was visiting yesterday," Gabe explained with a laugh while he, too, pulled his seat belt across his body. "And... I told your brother about the trip the night after I asked you to come. So no worries there," Gabe added with a smile. It was a lot less awkward than he thought it would be, especially after explaining to Everett that his niece legitimately thought his sister was a princess. Ev didn't seem to care much as long as he wasn't subjected to the early morning and long drive.

He reached back behind Kiara's seat, producing a large black, square, zipped up binder . "And as my second in command for this expedition," Gabe started, handing the heavy book over to Kiara, "You can control the music... at least until you fall asleep that is," Gabe said with a cheeky grin, already feeling the blonde may not make it even half way to Delaware before needing a nap. Gabe was used to the long drives by now and would be fine. He wouldn't be mad if Kiara couldn't keep up though. "I've been working on this collection since I was 5. You'll find some classics in there," Gabe said, shifting the car into gear so they could get on their way. "And some mix tapes of my own making... there's over 200 CDs in there I'm sure you'll find something you like."

[Deleted]

Kiara labeled Gabe as a morning person at the moment. Then again, perhaps his cheerful mood was brought along with the reason for this trip. The one time she had woken up next to him wasn’t exactly something to fall back on. Either way, knowing her brother, Gabriel’s words made sense. What did surprise her, however, was the fact that Everett didn’t appear to have any objections when it came to his best friend and sister going on a small road trip together, especially given it would take longer than a day. So while she did listen to everything Gabe said, giving a soft chuckle at the remark about McKenna, it was the latter that received more of her attention. “And he didn’t kill you…” Disbelief evident in her voice that had also drifted off into her own little world. It almost made her suspicious.

Luckily the sudden weight on her lap brought the blonde back to reality. Hands already opened it up while the man explained her ‘responsibility’ during this trip. “I am totally not going to fall asleep,” she told him with a smirk. Optics drifted from one CD to the next, figuring it was best to just pick a random one now while she went through all the rest. “I could drive for a couple of hours as well if you want me to…” Plucking out the first CD, she slid it into the CD player and pushed the play button before her gaze settled on the rest of his collection again. “At least once I’ve gone through all of these.” She chuckled, quite amazed by it all. At that moment the girl was set on finding the ones of his own making though.

“Let me know when you’re hungry, okay? I have sandwiches with ham, cheese, chocolate paste or eggs.” Pursing lips a tad bit – perhaps she had exaggerated hearing it now – the blonde looked over at Gabe. “What do you usually do when in Delaware? I mean, if you want to do some things on your own, don’t mind me.” Maybe Gabe had a certain routine while there, like visiting old friends or something.

[Gabriel James]

"Nope. Still alive and well," Gabe said, briefly gesturing to himself. Sure, Everett wasn't completely ok with it... but Gabriel had asked his friend to trust him. He made multiple promises that nothing was happening beyond visiting his niece, and that the hotel room would have two separate beds.

"And don't worry about driving. I'm so used to this trip by now.... I rarely even stop for food or a bathroom break anymore," Gabe explained as he drove them out of Pilot Ridge. "Not that we won't stop. Just... when I'm on my own I usually fall into my own little world - and in my head I just can't stop til I get there," he explained, wondering how different things would be with Kiara on the trip with him.

Gabe laughed slightly when Kiara listed off the sandwiches she had prepared. She had really gone out of her way to cover every possible craving. "Thanks. I'll let you know," he said, smiling over at her. It was cool that she was so prepared... maybe even excited for this trip. He had half expected her to decline the offer once she realized it meant an 8 hour drive in Tina, and an overnight stay in a hotel with him. But that wasn't the case at all. She took the information and took the initiative to make the trip even better than Gabe had planned. After all, now they had food. That was always a plus.

"I don't really have a plan," Gabe said, when Kiara asked what he usually did when he visited. "I mean... usually I visit Kenna as soon as I get there... then I check into whatever hotel I'm staying at...then I visit her again in the morning before heading back up to Vermont," Gabe explained with a shrug. It was a very, very simple itinerary. "Oh... and I always have dinner at this diner my Grandfather used to take me to. But other than that, its actually a pretty uneventful trip," Gabe explained honestly. He spent most of his time there with McKenna and Jen, anyway. Or at least as much time as the strict visiting hours at the children's hospital would allow. Occasionally he tried to find something fun to do, or a bar to go to. Usually, though, he was too distracted by thoughts of his niece and other family issues to do anything else.

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For the briefest of seconds Gabe got Kiara worried. Bathroom breaks were holy to her, despite how disgusted she was with the ones they would have to use during this trip. So luckily, other than the small frown that had appeared on her face, no intervention had to be made for the man set her at ease again before she had a chance to question it. For a moment it had replaced her main concern: would Tina make it to Delaware again? The blonde knew how defensive he was over the vehicle though, so no remark had been made about her uncertainty. Instead she sucked it up and would try to come across as fully relaxed. Nevertheless, it had never been an objection. She wanted to meet McKenna… and time spent with Gabriel was a nice bonus.

Heck, the college student didn’t even care that there were no other plans attached to this trip. Usually, when going somewhere where she had not been before, she would want to explore. Now Ki was more than happy to settle for this ‘pretty uneventful trip’. “I am perfectly okay with that though.” Like, Gabriel definitely should not feel bad about not having planned something out. “I mean, if you don’t mind me going to that dinner with you. Because it’s kind of your thing...” And maybe he rather didn’t share that memory. Except that Kiara was awful at explaining herself. The main message was that she would just eat somewhere else if he wanted her to.

Was that weird to offer? Watching her words to try and not make a fool out of herself tended to backfire, like it seemed to do now. Kind of like usual actually. Yet, while it might not show, the girl was kind of walking on eggshells around him. She… didn’t want him to find a reason to stop spending time together.

“So, um, anything I should know about your family or about how to behave around them? Just in case it’s not just McKenna and Jen in there?” Good impressions, right? Kiara was not aware of details, but she knew there was some tension. The last she wanted was make the situation worse for Gabriel, to give his family a reason to complain about the person he brought along – and, in other words, which would be his fault.

[Gabriel James]

"Of course you're coming to dinner! Think I was going to let you starve in the hotel room?" Gabe asked with a laugh, finding Ki's doubt about that kind of silly. "It'll be nice to have some company for a change," Gabe promised with a smile. Of course, he was very good at making small talk with the waitresses there. They all knew him by name, and a couple were even working there when he was a kid. He was sure bringing Ki would raise a few questions - especially from the older employees. It wasn't anything Gabriel James couldn't handle, though.

Gabe tapped his fingers on the steering wheel when Ki asked her next question, briefly licking his slightly chapped lips to cover up the small pause he took in order to figure out how to answer her question lightly. His family situation was less than perfect. It was actually a bit of a shit show, to be completely honest. But he wasn't about to drag Ki down with any of those stories. "Well there's a chance you'll meet my brother Noah," Gabe said. "He's... the big bad business man. Kinda stiff and strict... we don't really get along," Gabe explained, wrinkling his nose slightly, saying his piece in the nicest way possible.

"You know... we're just holding onto siblingly rivalries from when we were kids. And we're just... so different in general. It's hard for us to find common ground. Basically our only common ground is McKenna so there's that," Gabe said with a shrug, still keeping his tone fairly positive. "I honestly doubt we'll run into my parents..." Gabe said - fully believing they could dodge that bullet. His parents were creatures of habit, and generally visited Kenna on Thursday evenings and Tuesday afternoons (according to Jen). "And my other brother, Isaac, has been in Ireland for years now... if he's there we can all assume that Great Britain has sunk into the ocean," Gabe explained with a laugh - barely being able to recall the last time he'd seen Isaac. Really it was just Noah. Though with the amount of time his brother spent working, he rarely ran into the older man on his visits. Which was great.

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Asking stupid questions was one of Kiara’s specialties. The one about dinner had been serious though. She did not want to invade one of his traditions, but luckily the man managed to make her feel better about those concerns. Same went for his family. While hearing him talk about them did not provide a lot of comfort, Gabe did seem to eliminate every possibility of running into them. She accepted this with a nod and then refocused on the map of CDs that rested upon her lap. The more titles she read, however, the heavier eyelids became. Ki fought it to the best of her ability, yet not as successful as hoped given her head unintentionally dipped forward a couple of times, only for it to snap back into place with eyes opening quickly.

It probably occurred about five times (in the last hour) before the blonde closed the map and placed it down under her seat. While part of her did want to say something to Gabriel, she didn’t. One, she was tired, and two, she would be admitting that he was right from the start – something Ki would probably end up hearing once she woke up again. For now, however, the college student tugged the hood over her head and shifted in the seat until the seatbelt didn’t hug her too tightly. She rested an arm against the door and then the rest of her body, using the former as a pillow. It was only a matter of minutes before the music faded, along with the noise of Tina’s motor.

It took about an hour or two before ears began to pick up those sounds again. For a second it hurt her neck to sit up straight again, using her hand to rub at her eyes while readjusting to being awake. The song playing sounded familiar, probably because the CD appeared to be replaying. It was why her first reaction was to take the map from underneath the seat again, placing it upon her lap, only to look over at Gabe after that. A sheepish grin curled her lips while hands blindly moved back to the page of CDs that she had been checking last. “Looks like I missed some songs,” she mused while trying to fake this being the most normal thing ever.

Brushing the hood off of blond curls, Ki gazed down at the options again – at which point a specific CD caught her attention. “You did acapella?” The grin made place for a smile now that her head turned to him once more, already taking the CD out of the map for that clearly was her next choice.

[Gabriel James]

It had been a fairly uneventful ride while Kiara was asleep. They had crossed the Vermont-New York border, and it briefly rained. Traffic was light and the sun was finally completely up in the sky. But beyond that, Gabe's blonde traveling companion hadn't missed much. "Good morning, sunshine," Gabe said with a chuckle as Kiara craned her neck and rubbed her eyes - readjusting to the light of day.

The blonde went right back to her assigned duty, however, and found herself back in Gabe's CD collection. He was ok with that, though, since the first CD had already been played through, and songs were repeating. He would have changed the CD himself, except he didn't want to wake Kiara trying to grab the CDs from beneath her feet. When she came across a certain CD, though, suddenly Gabe wished he had made the move aobut a half hour ago. "Oh. That?" Gabe asked glancing at the disc. He knew the one.

It was a navy blue disc with silver lettering reading:

The Dapperhood Presents: Acapalooza
Featuring Gabriel P. James

It was the first CD Gabe's name was on (even though it was super tiny compared to the cheesy title: ACAPALOOZA. He was weirdly proud that he got his name onto a CD, but not so sure he was ok with being the headliner for a second-rate all-men's accapella group. "Uh... no. No that's a different Gabriel James," Gabe insisted, waving the CD away from the player momenterally as Kiara fumbled with the buttons to eject the old CD. "I'm sure there's something better in there to listen to," he offered in a vain attempt.

He had a feeling it wouldn't work, but he gave it a shot, only sighing when it seemed Kiara had made up her mind. Gabriel made a mental note of hiding that CD the next time he had company along for a road trip. He sighed, as the first track began to play. "Oh gosh, here we go," Gabe murmered with a chuckle, expecting Kiara to poke some fun at him as soon as the first song started playing.

The old a cappella group was cool... Gabe really missed some of the guys from The Warblers... but they had a weird affinity for pop songs, and had no shame in choosing cheesy, female-lead songs for their first soundtrack. Frankly... it was a little embarrassing for Gabe's first ever CD track to be a Katy Perry "classic".

[Deleted]

Gabriel’s attempt at making Kiara pick another CD was not exactly effective. Because, come on, did he really expect that she was going to buy his ridiculous excuse? How strange would it have been for him to keep a CD that had his name on it… even though it wasn’t really him? The girl arched an eyebrow at this, keeping her gaze on him while the hand with the CD lingered near the player while the other ushered his away in order to be able to eject the other CD. It didn’t take long to succeed and within a couple of minutes, the first track began to play.

A grin of success had settled on the blonde’s lips, soon enough expanding into an even brighter one the second Gabriel’s voice beamed through the speakers. “That is so cool!” She decided without filtering her words. It was a genuine reaction, not thought through like many others. In the meanwhile the previous CD got slid back into the map before the latter disappeared under the passenger seat again. “This one is going on repeat,” with a small chuckle, Ki looked over at Gabe. “Unless you have more of them.”

Clearly it was nothing to be embarrassed about. And in case the music teacher couldn’t tell that yet, he surely could after the next words being spoken. “I love your voice and to hear you sing.” Or just to hear him speak because it tended to be a cue that Gabriel was around. It might have been kind of weird and creepy to add that though, so Ki refrained and just offered him a little sheepish smile. Instead she refocused on the song and the lyrics, settling back in the seat again to get comfortable.

“Why didn’t you want me hearing it?” Either he was ashamed or afraid that the girl would judge him for the type of song. Dipping her head to the side, if only lightly, blue optics resettled on the profile of Gabriel’s face.

[Gabriel James]

Gabriel smiled sheepishly at the blonde's reaction, rolling his eyes when she suggested the CD go on repeat. That would make for a long ride. But Gabe did put Kiara in charge of music, so it was her decision (until she fell asleep again). "Nah, that's the only one," Gabe informed the girl truthfully, not trying to thinly hide any other CDs with his name on them.

Gabe couldn't deny he enjoyed the CD, but it was kind of weird hearing yourself singing over your car's sound system. "It's not that I didn't want you to hear it," Gabe said, trying to figure out exactly how to explain his initial reaction. "I guess it's just... I dunno some of the tracks on here are so... well this," Gabe said with a chuckle gesturing to the CD player as the song played on. "It's not exactly me... well its my voice and I had a lot of fun doing it but... I guess I wish my first CD was something a little more serious. And it's a little weird singing along to the radio when it's already your own voice," Gabe added on at the end with a laugh, remembering the first time he listened to the CD on his own.

He briefly glanced over at Kiara, just for a moment, before his eyes went back to the road. "I'm glad you like it though," he said honestly. His family had not been as impressed. Perhaps that was another reason Gabe was reluctant to share. He didn't think much more into the compliment, though. He was somewhat used to people praising his voice at this point. He appreciated the compliments, but was never one to rely heavily on other's opinions. The song finished up and rolled onto the next.

[Deleted]

on the majority of times when she heard him sing (which was around three times), he was pretty good at covering lighthearted songs. “Because Disney is way more serious,” Kiara jokingly teased before allowing a gentle smile to linger on her lips. “It shows your different qualities though.” He could handle several styles. While it might not have been what he preferred when it came to a first CD, it was a good start. “Besides, at least you have a CD with your name on it. Which you definitely deserve.” And she could only envy him for that. And be proud as well.

After that, Kiara enjoyed the rest of the songs, every once in a while humming along. And, as mentioned, the CD went on repeat. The blonde hadn’t dozed off again, so Gabe was out of luck and had to deal with it. Surely the smile on her face would compensate, right? She mentally justified it that way. The time left after the second time of listening to every track on there, was spent trying to decide on what CD to listen to next, enjoying the surroundings or pinching Gabriel’s upper arm whenever a yellow car passed by. The college student had no clue how long it would take before they were to arrive given she hadn’t been on this road trip before, so she might as well make good use of her time.

At least until a sign by the side of the road indicated they had arrived at their destination. It made Ki sit straighter, rather excited to be there. And to do as much sightseeing as possible. It might be the only time that she would see Delaware after all. “Nervous?” The girl mused upon turning her head at the man. Nervous as in excited to see his cousin. Based on how she felt, Kiara could only imagine his emotions.

[Gabriel James]

It had been a fairly uneventful (but long)drive. They had listened to his CD about three times now, which Gabe wasn't particularly thrilled about, but he delt with it since Kiara seemed to really enjoy it. He made a mental note to get ahold of another copy for the blonde. They laughed and talked the entire way, which helped Gabe forget that it was his own voice on loop in the background.

When they finally crossed the bridge from New Jersey in Deleware, Kiara seemed to perk up - sit up a bit straighter, talk a bit cheerier (though her tone was usually quite cheerful to begin with). Gabe smiled inwardly, glad that Kiara seemed to be genuinely excited about reaching their destination. The hospital was just over the border, and they would be pulling into the parking lot in just a couple of minutes now.

"Nervous?" Gabe asked back in response - as if the notion of him being nervous was ridiculous. "No not really nervous. Excited? Yes definitely," Gabe said with a smile and a nod. He had to will himself not to speed nearly the entire trip down. The last mile or two of the drive was arguably the hardest in terms of controlling his excitement and staying under the posted speed limit. "I still haven't had the chance to give Ken her birthday present, so I'm really excited to get that to her. And, frankly, I'm pretty excited you guys get to meet in person, too. She asks about you, you know," Gabe informed Kiara with a little chuckle. His niece often talked about her Uncle Gabe's "princess friend" and insisted that her Uncle be nice to her, so that maybe one day he could be a prince. Gabe could only just chuckle at McKenna's innocence in these situations.

[Deleted]

Of course Gabriel was excited. Kiara should have known, but it was more than normal for her to ask questions to which the answer was more than obvious. At least it gave her extra confirmation and avoided assumptions, right? The fact that the blonde had not yet asked what McKenna’s birthday present was, easily gave away just how focused she was on other matters. Like the fact that Ken asked about her. Tut-tutting, Ki playfully shook her head in response. “It is not nice to gossip about people, you know? Unless you two talk about how amazing I am. In that case you will be forgiven.” While not a direct question, she kind of did hope Gabe would inform her about what his niece talked about. Curiosity killed the cat. Good thing she wasn’t a feline.

She managed to shoot a smile in his direction, right before her head turned away the second he pulled up in front of the hospital. Kiara felt a tad bit helpless at that moment. Gabe knew his way around here and had it completely figured out how they would spend their day. All she could do during the next hour or so was tag along, perhaps sometimes go with the flow, and not ruin this moment for him. So when the music teacher got out, Ki was quick to mirror his moves. First, however, she quickly plucked a poster tube from the backseat. It had been dropped there before she had placed the small cooler behind her seat.

Blue optics then fell upon his darker pair. An eyebrow was arched slightly to wordlessly tell him to lead the way. She would make sure to stick by his side, especially since hospitals didn’t make her feel overly comfortable. That, and she was prone to getting lost. “If you want to do this a certain way, like maybe go in first, let me know, okay?” His moment, his rules. They had to survive a night and a trip back to Vermont together after all.