Diana

I've made some mistakes in my life, and one of them was forgetting my sunglasses.

The other one was, well, my handbag smelled like bacon.

Groaning, I awkwardly rummaged through my luggage – with my body twisted in an unladylike fashion as I looked for a piece of clothing, anything, to shield me from the harsh sunlight.

"Tinted windows would have been nice, don't you think?" I concentrated on putting the said clothing, which was a navy blue tank top by my window. I sighed in relief as I leaned back, happy that it at least lessened the sun's chances of blinding me.

I was no car expert but I was pretty sure the one we're on looked like it belonged to a music video for a country song. Some song mentioning your momma and leaving.

Wil laughed before tapping the stirring wheel. Unlike mine, his window was rolled down, the gentle breeze from the outside reaching me. During the first few minutes when we reached this part of the trip, with me being overwhelmed by how much untouched grass was before my eyes, I risked a few glances.

His hair was a mess, not like he bothered combing it. There were times when he cursed to himself whenever it got in his eyes and times when they naturally parted. It took me a lot of effort not to laugh when it occurred to me that he looked like a member of a boy band. I was almost tempted to ask if he ever wore a turtleneck sweater. He occasionally licked his bottom lip. I'm in no place to judge. Dry lips were painful as hell.

"Tinted windows are for people who have something to hide." He looked at me for a moment and gave me a lopsided smile. "And I, my sugar plump, have none. Besides, don't you want to admire the scenery?"

I snorted. "Scenery. All right then." I lifted my makeshift curtain and pointed a finger on the glass. "Grass. Grass. Cow. Grass."

I heard him chuckle before I felt someone tapping on my shoulder. I turned around to see him doing what looked like an Elvis Presley pose. "You're looking at the wrong view."

I grimaced before looking at the backseat. Tory barely got any sleep and was singing almost half of the trip before she passed out. Sighing, I leaned back on my chair as we drove past endless fields of greenery. I turned my attention back to Wil.

"Thank you. I needed this," I said solemnly.

"Same here," he replied.

I smiled before punching him lightly on the arm. "You got your fiancée running on you, too?"

He turned serious before he carefully asked, "Is that what happened?"

My eyes widened. Trying to play it cool, I shrugged. "Guess I'll be seeing the likes of him when we get to where we're going." Seeing the confusion on his face, I added, "Chickens."

His mouth formed an O before he smiled. "For a moment there I thought you were talking about donkeys."

I frowned before realizing what he meant—

Asses.

Shaking my head, I just stared at him. There was no music playing and all I could really hear was the whooshing sound the wind made on my ears.

"Hey," Wil said.

I forced a smile, silently asking.

"Take a risk." He pointed at my window, gesturing that I get rid of my make-shift curtain.

Rolling my eyes, I obliged and dear Lord was I surprised.

Sure there was still grass, but there was something else. I felt the car slow down as I urgently rolled down the window, the breeze kissing my face as I inhaled fresh air.

Sunflowers.

Lots of them. A whole, vast field of sunflowers swaying with the wind. The car stopped and I turned to see Wil turning off the engine. Tory groaned, rubbing her eyes as she slowly got up to a sitting position. Every one inside the car needed a comb, ASAP. Wil got out of the car and walked towards our side

I smiled widely and pointed at the sunflowers. Tory's eyes widened as Wil opened her door, helping her out. I could see her jumping as the wind occasionally made her stop because her hair got into her mouth. Laughing, Wil helped me out and we stood there looking at the flowers.

I felt the car move and saw Wil guiding Tory as she climbed the top of it. Tory gasped, her smile never leaving her face. Wil faced me and held out a hand.

"Well?" he inquired.

"I'm heavier than I look." Laughing as I took a few steps back.

"The view's better up here, Diana! They look like they're dancing, come see!" Tory shouted.

I looked at her, then at Wil, with his hand still waiting. Hesitantly, I reached out to him.

I wasn't kidding when I told him I was heavy. He couldn't lie. Why? I heard him groan as I attempted a graceful way of climbing up the roof of the car. Like getting off a pool, slithering, because I kept slipping. I sat down, feeling like I just had a quick run. I looked down to see Wil go to us. He took a deep breath when he sat beside me, with Tory still occupied with admiring the view.

"Now," Wil started, "look."

I turned my attention towards the fields and Tory was right. They looked like they were dancing.

Is this what being cooped up in a building six times a week do to people?

It was beautiful. And oh so, yellow.

Wil laughed. I realized I just said what was on my mind, out loud.

But it didn't really matter because my face hurt – probably because I've been grinning from ear to ear for quite some time now.

"If taking risks was this rewarding, you wouldn't even hesitate." Wil worded out. He wasn't looking at me but I knew what he said was for me.

I chuckled before running a hand through my tangled hair.

"If taking risks meant getting on top of a car and viewing sunflowers, maybe," I said.

He chuckled, holding onto Tory's coat just in case she slipped. He sighed. "Maybe."

"What are risks?" Tory asked, sitting in-between Wil and I.

"Well," Wil cleared his throat before replying, "it's when you do something you've never done before, to experience something you've never felt before." He looked at me, silently asking if he did a good job on explaining it to a little girl.

We both stared at Tory as she contemplated Wil's answer. A moment more and she looked at me. "Like you?"

I raised my eyebrows, and slowly nodded. She frowned before talking again. "You never went with new people on trips before?"

I smiled. "Not on trips like this, no."

"Then what do you want to feel?" she asked.

Blinking a couple of times, I stared at her.

"I – I don't know." Laughing, I placed strands of hair behind her ear.

"And this is why I get called by the school. She's an old lady, I swear." Wil laughed, jumping off the car. He turned towards us and held out his arms. Tory laughed before jumping. It almost gave me a heart attack. When Wil turned to me and did the same gesture, his arms outstretched, I shook my head anxiously.

"Come on." He shrugged before grinning. "Take a risk."

My eyes widened. "You know what you're going to feel if you take this risk?" I scooted closely to the edge, almost half my bottom in mid-air. "A couple of broken bones, that's what."

He chuckled, Tory cheering him on.

Honestly, I'm a grown woman. I can darn well get off the roof of a car. But the situation was like having someone eagerly asking if I wanted a free sample and they're already there and I had to at least pick the darn toothpick with cheese on it off the tray.

Without thinking much of it, I jumped.

There was Tory, laughing. There was Wil, grunting. And there was me, Diana, trying to apologize how I accidentally hit his nose with my face.
It was a quiet moment afterwards. Well, for me. They laughed it off but I got so scared I might've dislocated his nose. He assured me that he was fine and Tory and him described how nice the place we were staying at was.

I never even noticed we passed the town until I felt the car stop. I stretched from my seat and saw Wil looking at the house in front of us.

"You ready?" He asked.

Nodding, I fixed my hair. Trying to cover my irrational nervousness, I got off the car first, taking a few steps to admire the view even more.

The sweet breeze. I could hear chickens, and the voices from inside the house and the distant sound of barking.

It took me a while.

And when I finally saw it, a blur of almost grey coming towards me, I did what any sane person would do.

Well – to be precise, a sane person who wasn't exactly focused on anything. A mind-in-shambles kind of sane person.

So, yes, there I was, about to be attacked, and I, well I stood there frozen still.

I was expecting a slow, painful death. So when I heard how near it was, I dropped the bag I was carrying and braced myself.

It was when I felt Wil's hand on my shoulder that I confirmed that I was very much alive and unharmed. I opened my eyes to see him looking at me like I just told him a very bad joke, so bad that it made him laugh.

"What was that?" I whispered as he helped me to get up.

I heard Tory shriek and I quickly turned to see her being licked on the face by the grey beast, my bag on the ground near them.

"That right there," Wil said, "is my mom's little angel."

I frowned before Tory giggled. "Diablo!"

The front door of the house opened and an old couple stepped out. The woman smiled widely before walking towards Wil.

I was sure she was walking towards Wil when she suddenly turned to me and enveloped me in a tight hug. I was petite, but she was a tad bit smaller.

I awkwardly hugged her back before she turned to Wil and slapped his arm.

"Wilbur Ramirez Gibson," she said, her hand on my elbow, "what took you so long?"

Tory came running, hugging the lady. "We took risks." She grinned.

I felt something cold touch my leg and looked down to see a hairless dog. He looked happy enough to see me, what with my bag in its mouth. I'm guessing the bacon was for him. I thought I was going to unpack, prepare a schedule of activities to keep me busy for a couple of days, then go home.

Hearing Wilbur and his mother exchange words, with Tory holding my hand as we went inside the house, I'm pretty sure I won't be following any schedule.

I could tell this just by being informally introduced to Wil – Wilbur's mother and her little angel, Diablo.