Fields were whirling by at an alarming rate, as was the sun with its sinking, and Arthur couldn't decide which was worse. On one hand he had next to nothing to look at and on the other, night was coming while he was several miles away from where he ought to be. He glanced over at his driving companion. Al's expression showed no signs of guilt or possibly, even, a mental debate. He looked relaxed, Arthur would say, and this troubled him even more.

Why had he gotten in the blasted car to begin with? A better question might be why Al had let him. When one was going off on a grand adventure of self-understanding or whatever, usually it was alone, right? That was what Al wanted to do, probably - find himself. Where, Arthur had no idea. It probably wouldn't be among some cut-back, muddy fields.

If Arthur knew how to drive, he would have hatched a brilliant plan to commandeer the car at the next gas station. It would have been spectacular - Al at the tank, eyes focused on the sale price, as he pulled the keys from the ignition. Al would be at his mercy.

Okay, so probably not. The guy was taller, with broad shoulders, and heftier. He could probably pin Arthur to the hood, twist his arm a little, and Arthur would have to give. What a jackass.

Arthur shook his head a little and Al glanced at him.

"You alright there?" he asked.

Arthur snorted. Oh so elegant. "When have I ever been alright?" he asked. "I've told you about a million times to turn this car around, yet you refuse to listen!"

"Twenty-two times - I've been listening," Al said and grinned all cheeky-like.

"Then why aren't we headed back to campus?" Arthur asked, rolling his eyes. "This does not look like anywhere close to the Springs. Or Denver. Or anywhere I know of in Colorado."

Al snickered, bringing one hand to his mouth. "Man, you need to get out more often. Pretty much half of Colorado is this - fields and shit. Farms," he replied.

Arthur could feel his cheeks warm up with the inevitable Blush of Shame. He should have known that. It wasn't like he hadn't done any research into where he wanted to study abroad. The hours he had spent in front of the computer, looking up schools and locations. Somewhere interesting, scenic. So sure, he hadn't paid all that much attention to the stuff that wasn't pretty - it still should have made some sort of impression.

Arthur groaned and had half the mind to throw a tantrum - legs and arms flying as he yelled at Al to turn the blasted car around. "Can we please turn around?" he whined, hating himself for doing so. And for using the word 'please.'

A corner of Alfred's mouth turned upwards. "No."