The Chosen Road

The man holding his nose let go of it to grab Seb by the shirt. Sebastian delivered a left-handed uppercut to his stomach. It knocked the wind out of his lungs. Seb followed it with a right hook that sprayed blood from the man's already bleeding nose onto the floor. The onlookers gave a cry of surprise to see the blood.

The man with his hand on Jill's wrist let go of her and reached into his waistband for something. He regretted it as Sebastian grabbed his wrist, yanked him, and flipped him. He landed on his stomach. Seb shoved his heel into the man's shoulder blade and used his grip on his wrist to pull the man's right arm straight and force him to cry out. The hold nearly tore his arm off until he dropped the knife he'd drawn and cried out for Seb to let him go. Seb had his foot on the man's back, holding him in place, when the security officer tackled Sebastian, slamming him into the ground.

Jill gave a cry of protest, and Seb struggled for a second out of reflex. His wits came back to him, and he stopped. The officer zip-tied his wrists behind his back while another did the same to the guys on the floor.

Seb looked over at Jill, who was staring at him wide-eyed, and she suddenly looked sympathetic when she saw his worried expression as he checked her for damage.

"I'm fine!" She assured him. "They're drunk. I think."

Sebastian gradually became aware of applause. The onlookers were applauding him for stepping in and ending the assault, and some were even arguing with the guards.

"You should thank him for doing your fucking jobs!" A random older Italian gentleman chastised them. "Fuck! You should hire him!"

The State Trooper made his way over, and the crowd got a lot calmer. Most of them remembered they had something else to do at that exact moment. The officer questioned Jill first. She explained what happened. The guys had been aggressive, and when she turned down their offer to go outside with them, one of them had slapped her on the ass. She palm-struck him in the nose. Then the other one grabbed her wrist, and Seb dove in and ended it by taking them out.

The security team cut his zip-ties, and to Seb's surprise, Jill threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. Seb hugged her back, glad she was okay and sorry he hadn't been there sooner to prevent it.

"I'm sorry." Seb said. "I couldn't find you, so I got in line for a burger." He explained.

"You're sorry?" Jill asked, surprised. "You have nothing to be sorry about." She chuckled. "You are like Daredevil." She laughed again, her contagious, unashamed, child-like laughter that flitted through the air. "Fighting crime."

"Don't make a habit of it." The State Trooper piped up. "This was a clear case of self defense, and he pulled a knife, so he's going away for a while, but I'll need your contact information." He informed them. "And your IDs for a moment." He added. Jill and Sebastian turned them over and gave him their phone numbers. He walked away to talk with the security guards, then picked up the knife from the floor with a plastic baggie and put it away.

"You and your boyfriend might be called in to testify." The trooper explained. "But for now, you're free to go. Hope you folks have safe travels."

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend." Jill corrected.

"Damn girl, give the guy a shot." The old woman next to the Italian gentleman who'd spoken up before piped up this time. She addressed Sebastian. "Do you want my granddaughter's number? She's about your age and single! Cute as a button."

"Leave 'em alone Mia." The old man chided her. "You kids have a good night." He said as he and his wife walked past, arm in arm. "You have to stop trying to set up Lucia. She'll get married when she's ready." His voice faded into the distance as they walked with their pizza to a table out of earshot.

"Oh my god, they are the cutest fucking thing I've ever seen." Jill commented, clutching Seb's arm, holding his bicep in her hand. She realized what she was doing, let go, and stepped away, looking down at his hands. "How are your hands? Are you okay? Do you need ice?" She asked.

"I'm fine." Sebastian said, examining his knuckles. They were red, and he had torn some skin on his right hand, but otherwise, he came out of the fight none the worse for wear. They might swell a bit, but nothing he couldn't handle.

"Do you still want a burger?" Jillian asked. "My treat."

Seb gave a nervous laugh but nodded. He was still coming down from the adrenaline rush, and he was tired but hungry. "I'll handle the burger." He assured her. "If you want to buy me something, buy me a latte. I'm exhausted." He chuckled.

"Do you want any flavor?" She asked.

"Caramel Brulee?" Seb shrugged.

After patting him on the back, Jill nodded and headed over to the coffee line. She had a longer wait than he did, so he brought his food over to join her, waiting for the coffee.

"You want to sit?" Jill asked.

"Nah. I figured we'd eat on the road again." Seb answered.

"Fair enough." She said. That was the plan, after all. When the order came up, the barista handed him his latte, and Jill took her own. She didn't have quite the fatigue he did, but she still figured a pick-me-up was a good idea. She'd been driving all day, and they still had more than an hour to go.

Sebastian took his latte and burger and waited through the pizza line with her. After a few more minutes, they left the rest stop behind them. They ate to Mariah Carey's tunes and finished her Christmas album before they started more conversation.

"So where'd you learn to fight like that?" Jill asked, having replayed the events of the brief fight in her head repeatedly during the drive.

"My dad." Seb answered. "He's really into fitness. He signed us all up for a boxing gym a few years ago. They offered classes in boxing, and I did pretty well." He scoffed. "I guess I really wanted to be Daredevil as a kid."

Jill smirked. "Well, you impressed me." She admitted. "You're my superhero."

"You had it handled, I think." Seb assured her. "You broke that guy's nose. Where'd you learn to do that?"

"I did do that, yes." Jill said quickly. "I may have watched Miss Congeniality a lot in high school. But I only did it because he slapped my ass after the three of them came on to me. And I couldn't have fought off all three by myself."

Seb nodded. "Well, I'll make sure no one else slaps your ass."

Jill started giggling.

"What?" Seb asked. "What's so funny?"

"You're not Daredevil." Jill wheezed. "You're Thor." She was downright cackling now until she finally explained between gasps of breath for laughter. "You're my personal ass-guardian."

Seb was already joining in with her contagious laughter, but the punny punchline sent him over the edge and split his sides with laughter.

The two laughed and giggled in amusement until it was all out of their system, then fell into a serene silence. They sat next to one another as Jill drove for a while, not even realizing that they weren't listening to anything. They enjoyed each other's silent presence until they reached the Christmas village Jill was heading for. Jill pulled into the hotel parking lot on the edge of the village and parked.

"You stay here." Jill instructed. "I'm going to check-in. Would you be willing to walk around the village with me afterward?" Jill asked.

"Absolutely." Seb agreed. "It'll be great to stretch the legs."

"Perfect." Jill smiled and headed into the lobby.

Sebastian waited in the car for a while but decided to go in after her. Maybe they had some cancellations that weren't up on the website, so perhaps he could get a room after all. Or maybe... he hesitated. Maybe she wanted him to stay the night in her room. Would she be upset if he got a room of his own? Did she like him that way? Did he want her that way?

She was pretty, but more than that, being around her wasn't taxing or draining. It was recharging. Even the shoulder-to-shoulder companionship of sitting and listening to music was comfortable. The silence between them was comfortable, and he didn't get anxious over whether she was upset with him like he always had with Steph. Comparing her to Steph wasn't fair, but it was all he had to compare a relationship to, and the differences were night and day.

He watched her exit the lobby, and seeing her face light up when she saw him made him smile. Uh oh.

Seb felt the butterflies in his stomach start to wake and stir. This was crazy, right? Spending a day in a car with a girl wasn't enough to fall in love, right? He'd known Steph his entire life, but he'd only known Jill for a little over twelve hours. They were only four hours away from home, having made stops and hitting some heavier traffic in the afternoon. If all went well, they'd be home by tomorrow morning, and it would be goodbye.

Jill knocked on his window, and Seb rolled it down. "You want to put the bags in the room first?" She asked.

Seb nodded and climbed out of the car, hoisting his backpack over his shoulder and following her in after they each grabbed a suitcase from the trunk. Jill led the way and handed him a room key as they made their way to the second floor. The hotel seemed full of people, all traveling for the Holidays like they were. The place seemed booked solid.

Jill stopped when they got to their room door and opened it up. The size surprised Sebastian with how small it was. The bathroom door was to the immediate left, and a closet was also on the left before the small hallway opened into a larger square room. There was a window on the left wall. A dresser was on the far wall with a TV on it. The most noticeable aspect of the room was... the single king-sized bed.

Seb looked surprised, but Jill didn't.

"Uh..." Seb started. "I thought you said there were two double beds?"

"There were supposed to be." She started. "But some married couple going through a divorce pitched a fit about having a single king, so they swapped our rooms."

Sebastian looked at Jill. "And you're..." He hesitated. "You're okay with sharing the bed?"

"Yeah." Jill nodded. "Are you?" She asked.

Sebastian hesitated.

"I can sleep on top. There's an extra blanket in the closet. You can sleep under the covers." She assured him. "We've been stuck together in the car for so long. Sharing a bed won't be a big deal."

"Sure." Seb nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?" Jill asked.

"Yeah." Seb agreed.

Jill hugged him. "Great." She squeezed while Sebastian stood there and patted her on the back somewhat awkwardly.

Seb sighed. Now that he'd thought about her outside platonic boundaries, he'd made things weird. He could feel her breasts under her sweater smoosh up against his ribs. The squeeze of her arms around him sent a thrill through him. He could smell the fragrant aroma of her silken hair, like honey and lavender. He looked down at her, hugged her back, and stepped away.

Jill coughed and looked away. "Sorry." She said. "I just wanted a hug after all the excitement today."

"Not a problem." Seb said. "I'm from a family of huggers."

"Me too." Jill smirked. "You want to get into PJs and watch something until we fall asleep?"

"I thought you wanted to walk?" Seb asked. "Wasn't the whole point of coming to this Christmas village to do some shopping?"

"Oh." Jill's face fell momentarily, but she fixed it in an instant. "Yeah." She nodded. "I'm tired, but some walking will do us both good."

Seb nodded, set his luggage by the desk with his backpack on top, and headed toward the exit. Jill followed him out and looked as though she were going to reach for his hand, but then she stopped herself. She double-checked the door behind them to make sure it locked.

"You okay?" Seb asked.

"Yeah." Jill nodded. "I'm fine." She adjusted her sweater a bit and tugged the sleeves down.

Sebastian stuck his hands in his pockets and led the way back to the elevators.

They felt comfortable in their clothing despite the cool outdoor temperature. The places where the air touched skin were cold, though. The tips of their noses and the curves of their earlobes were bright with chill. They were thankful that walking kept their blood pumping, and the indoor shops of the Christmas Village were well-heated. Jill kept looking around nervously as they walked, and Sebastian wasn't sure what was wrong, but he knew something was. She kept looking at him and looking away the moment he looked at her. She also seemed far more nervous than she had during their drive.

"What's wrong?" Sebastian asked after the third shop they'd gone into, and Jill had bought nothing.

"Nothing." Jill assured him.

"Nope. Don't do that. That's what Steph would say when pissed off at me for something. I can tell something's wrong. What did I do?" He asked, shields up. Anyone could see in his face that he had braced himself for a fight where he would get yelled at.

Jill softened in a way that made him see her melt, and it disarmed him as her eyes met his. She put a gentle but reassuring hand on his shoulder. She was silent for a heartbeat, swallowed, and steeled herself to speak.

"Seb, you've done nothing wrong. You've been... You are great. And I promise I won't act like your ex if I ever have an issue with you. However, I haven't been completely honest with you." Jill admitted. "You remember that ex I mentioned, Oliver?"

"Yeah." Sebastian nodded, still half-waiting for the yelling to start but now half-accepting that the usual routine wouldn't happen. Jill was not Steph, and he realized that was one of the many things Seb liked about her.

"He works here." Jill confessed. "I was..." She sighed. "I was coming here to rekindle things. To try to... I don't know. Spark some holiday magic or something and hook up while I was on my way home."

"Oh." Seb said. Getting a hotel room only a few hours from home made more sense now.

"I didn't want to go to my sister's wedding alone. He goes to college near here and works here for some extra cash." Jill explained. "My plan was to, I don't know, try to run into him, get talking, and hope things led to bringing him back to my hotel room."

"I can sleep in the car." Seb offered. "If you want to-"

Jill shook her head and smiled as she looked up at him. She took a step closer to him. They were standing on the sidewalk now, the surrounding shoppers ignoring them. The sky was dark, but the world was bright with thousands of Christmas lights decorating every building and walkway in the humble colonial village turned Christmas village. The only noise came from the children waiting to see Santa around the corner.

"I don't want that anymore." Jill admitted. "I don't want him anymore."

She held his hand in hers, tugging him along behind her. "Come on, let's get this shopping over with." She suggested.

Seb was smiling the entire time they held hands. They walked through the stores together. Jill would pick something up, examine it, show it to Sebastian, and then usually put it back. She bought little nicknacks and gifts for her family members. Seb bought a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree kit he thought would look great in his and Mike's dorm room.

It wasn't until they stood in line for Hot Cocoa that any semblance of the real world returned to them.

"Jill?" A male voice cut in.

They both looked over to see an overweight, but not obese, young man with a patchy beard dressed in full elf regalia. He looked a little silly in his curly green shoes and his night-cap-like green hat. The ears looked very well done, but the costume undercut the illusion with its garish candy-cane socks and the absurd number of silver bells that jingled every time the man made the slightest motion.

"Ollie, hi." Jill said resignedly. "Oliver, this is my... friend Sebastian. Sebastian, this is Oliver."

"Oh, hey." Sebastian nodded and offered Oliver his hand for a handshake.

Oliver accepted the handshake and squeezed down hard on it. Sebastian winced from the swollen and torn knuckles that received the pressure. Oliver seemed satisfied by his minor act of intentional, yet ignorant, sadism.

"Hey." Oliver answered. "What are you doing here?" He asked Jill.

"Shopping." Jill held up the shopping bags from the different stores they'd visited. "Seb and I are on our way home for the holiday." She explained.

"Cool." Oliver nodded. "And you stopped over on your way because..."

"Because I remembered liking it as a kid?" Jill supplied. "And we've been in the car all day." She sighed. "It's nice to stretch our legs before we make the last leg of the journey."

"Oh, well..." Oliver looked at Sebastian and sized him up, though his expression soured. "I'm off work in about two hours if you want to get some dinner? Catch up?"

"Oh, I'd love to, but Seb and I have some plans." Jill shrugged. "Some other time."

"Oh." Oliver took another glance over Sebastian, then shrugged. "Alright. Well, you have my number if you change your mind." He said.

"Sure." Jill nodded. "See you around!"

Oliver nodded and waved as he returned to the path he'd been on before he spotted Jill. Sebastian looked down at her and raised an eyebrow.

"I feel used." Seb joked.

Jill didn't seem to take it as a joke, but she laughed anyway. "I'm sorry, but thank you. That felt amazing."

Seb didn't respond but nodded.

"What's wrong?" Jill asked. "Talk to me, Seb."

"No, it's stupid." Seb said, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it."

Jill grabbed him by the arms and squeezed. Looking up into his eyes, she held his gaze. "Hey, I won't get mad at you. Tell me what you're thinking."

Seb relented. "It's like I'm the Ali in this situation." He explained. "Like you were using me to make him jealous or something." He chuckled, trying to lighten the blow of the inevitable anger.

Jill didn't seem to find it funny, but she didn't get angry. "I don't play those games." She said. Her tone was soft and reassuring. "Do you?"

"No." Sebastian answered.

"Good." She seemed to soften. "Oliver and I..." She hesitated. "We loved each other, in our way." She explained. "But we didn't want to date long distance, so we broke up when we went to college. We're still friends on socials and everything."

"And you still have feelings for him?" Sebastian asked.

"No." Jill said immediately. "I mean." She hesitated. "Maybe?" She asked. "I don't know. It's difficult to understand feelings sometimes. I loved him. I did. But when I look at him and you, I know who I want."

Seb swallowed.

"What about you?" Jill asked. "Do you still love Steph?"

He didn't know how to answer that. Seb thought he should - like he should still be hung up on his ex, whom he'd dated for his entire adolescent life. He'd lived for years with the understanding that Steph would always be a part of his life- she was a constant. Yet, here he was without her, and life went on.

"You're taking a while to answer." Jill pointed out. "Should I take that as a yes?"

"I don't know." Sebastian answered.

"It's okay if you do." Jill said. "You just broke up, and you've been with her for years."

"If she came back to you tomorrow and wanted to get back together, would you?" Jill asked. Seb hadn't heard that exact tone in her voice before. He didn't know that it was worry. Jill was worried for her heart and concerned for his sake. Steph was someone who could and would hurt him, and more than not wanting to see someone take him away, she didn't want him to get hurt.

"No." Seb answered. "I don't think so." He shook his head. "Not after she was probably cheating on me with Ali."

"And if that was all a misunderstanding?" Jill asked. "What if she could prove she'd been faithful and that her sibling had hacked her account? Or if she changed it to dating Ali because she was mad at you and wanted to punish you. What then?"