1. Destination Anywhere (1/2)

the

road trip

disclaimer:

"the road trip" is a work of fan fiction inspired by the

television series "felicity" and is intended only for the

purposes of entertainment and self-instruction in writing. the author

does not claim ownership of any of the characters or settings

originally appearing in the television show, nor is the author

profiting from this fan fiction story in any way. the characters

appearing in this fan fiction who have also appeared in the original

television series belong to writers matt reeves and j.j. a

ams, and

are used here with all due respect to the original works. no

infringement is intended.

a/n:

i began this story without having seen season 3 of "felicity."

consequently, you will find that the story line presented here

doesn't agree with some of the places felicity & ben later

mention having seen that summer. since a rewrite and change of route

were impossible by the time i discovered the error, i have left the

story as it is. regardless, i hope you enjoy my telling of one of the

most important parts in fab history.

1

– destination anywhere

as

the cab turned around, felicity's heart began to thump against her

ribcage. what if he left already? she checked her watch.

ten-oh-nine. i'm late. he only said he'd wait until ten.

she peered in agitation out the windows at the heavy new york

traffic. she had never minded the congestion and chaos of new york

life before. in fact, she loved it…except for right now. minutes

ticked by while the cab navigated through the logjam of cars, heading

for the loft at a pace that made felicity want to jump out and run

instead.

she

wondered for an instant if she'd made the right choice, then

squelched the thought at once. berlin would have been wonderful. when

the cab driver asked her destination, she blurted the name of the

airport without thinking. it seemed automatic that she should want to

go with noel. after all, she loved him, didn't she? the thought of

not going with him and knowing she'd have to face that

decision in the fall, had seemed too much to bear.

as

soon as the words left her mouth, they felt somehow…wrong. the

closer the cab got to the airport, the more everything in her pointed

like a compass arrow straight to the loft. she couldn't do it, no

matter how great berlin would be. the chance of a lifetime wasn't

in berlin. she hoped it was still waiting at sean's place.

please

drive faster! she gripped her knees in frustration. she noticed a

small tear in the upholstery of the cab seat and fixed all her

attention on it, trying to distract herself from their slow progress.

felicity

knew without checking when the cab turned the corner onto wooster,

because her heart went from thumping to hammering. she glanced at her

watch again. ten-twenty. with a disappointed sigh, she lifted her

gaze to the window.

the

cadillac stood parked out front of the loft…with ben leaning

against it.

her

heart surged into her throat as the cab veered toward the curb. ben

looked up and burst into a smile that made her heart race even

faster, if that were possible. she paid the driver, then opened the

cab door and got out.

she

tried to speak, but words wouldn't come. she had the strangest

feeling that the simple decision of where to spend two weeks of her

freshman summer had just altered the course of her life. it now lay

like a blank slate before her.

or

an unmarked road map.

the