hopefully it's not too confusing, writing this way with breaks. if it is, i'll just redo the time stamps so it's all in order. vote for your favorite. 

kyle drove through all of oregon and most of washington. i turned on the goonies somewhere in oregon, and after about half an hour i was the only awake passenger. i had never seen it, so i guess it was good to get myself some pop culture street cred. after the movie ended i fell asleep for a while and woke up outside yakima. both kyle and i were falling asleep, but neither of the girls knew how to drive a manual, so i bought an energy drink and took the wheel to get us into seattle. 

nina's parents met us at a gas station in redmond, and we transferred her to their car before taking off in the opposite direction to try and find austin's place. nobody had gps, and our printed off google map was not helpful, so we drove the same stretch of road about five times before calling austin and asking for his help. with a few missteps, we found his complex, and soon dropped off our bags. i went with mckenna to park the car in a nearby grocery store parking lot because the spots at the complex were all full. the night air was thick and sweet, and walking in it was more pleasant than anything i had felt in a long time. the clear sky revealed stars, obscured by tall evergreens in every direction. at that moment, i was glad that we had come. the fatigue that comes with sitting for nine hundred miles melted away as i breathed in that air. 

 "what are you guys doing tonight?"

the guy had been following us on a bike from the time that we walked through the gate. it felt vaguely creepy, and i was walking fast while still trying to keep myself between mckenna and this stranger. it's a weird instinct, but for some reason it seemed right.

"nothing, really. we just got into town and are gonna go to bed i think"

"oh really, where from?"

"utah, we drove all day, just got here."

"oh, well we're gonna play poker over at my place, you guys should come."

i noticed the guy checking mckenna out, and he probably had about 50 pounds on me, if not more. we walked a little faster, he biked a little faster

"thanks man, i think we're just gonna hit the sack though, we're way tired."

"ok"

even after i said this, he kept riding behind us, which was weird. we got to austin's door and let ourselves in as if we lived there. i felt relieved but didn't really want to show it. i had gone so quickly from refreshed and at peace to worried and protective, my brain's ability to switch gears showcased dramatically. i off-handedly told kyle and austin what had happened. austin was wearing a red and white "killington, vermont" pom-pom adorned beanie and athletic shorts, and still hadn't changed for bed. or maybe he was changed for bed. he dragged his mattress into the living room , and lay on the floor, offering the mattress to mckenna, who gladly accepted. we soon turned off the lights, but kept talking for quite some time, until either austin or i fell asleep mid sentence and only woke up at ten on saturday morning. kyle was mostly zoned out and fell asleep first, i think.