Road trips had a bad habit of making Karmin hungry.

There was nothing else to do except for talk and listen to music, so might as well eat.

After grabbing some ice cream, Karmin and Maddox said goodbye to Lincoln and were now back on the road, just to stop at the gas station to fill up the tank. This also gave her the opportunity to scan through the aisles filled with unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks.

"Mars or Reese?" she asked him, holding up the two chocolate bars in her hands.

"I'm allergic to peanuts, so Mars," said Maddox, lifting a red basket filled with a few other snacks.

"That's so cute," she retorted as she threw the bar into the basket.

"Me being deathly allergic to peanuts is cute?" he wondered, giving her a weird look.

She shrugged. "It's cute that you, a six-foot-something dude beats people up, but a small peanut would kill you," explained Karmin as she walked down the aisle, searching for anything else she might want.

Maddox rolled his eyes, following her. "We'll be home in an hour. Do you really need all this?"

"I can always eat it tomorrow," she said dismissively. As she searched for chocolate milk, her phone rang, and she quickly pulled it out to see it was Viola. She pressed the green button, putting the phone against her ear. "Hey, babe," Karmin greeted happily.

"Hi, love. Are you almost home from your little trip with Maddox?" said Viola, and if Karmin was with her right now, she knew she would be wiggling her eyebrows right about now.

"Yeah, I'll be there soon," she replied, pulling open the glass door to be greeted with a cool breeze.

"Okay, good, because I wanted to talk to you about your fight. I want to come," she said firmly.

Karmin's eyes widened in surprise as she passed a now tense Maddox the drink. "Are you sure? You don't have to."

"No, I want to. I haven't come to any of your other fights. I want to be there to support you."

Karmin scratched the side of her head, unsure if Viola coming was a good idea. She was a sweet soul. "If you're absolutely sure, then okay."

She cheered. "I'm sure. I'll be fine, don't worry." Karmin heard some yelling in the background, only for Viola to sigh. "I have to go, though. Adanna is threatening to sue Choyce for defamation of character. I love you."

Karmin laughed. "I'll see you later. I love you, too, babe."

She ended the call, shoving her phone back into the pocket. Karmin glanced at Maddox questioningly, who had a guarded look on his face.

He offered her the basket, grumbling, "I'll be in the car." With that, he left, leaving her confused.

"Um, alright then," she whispered to herself. Karmin shook her head, making her way to the counter.

After paying for everything, she exited the gas station, the dark night sky swallowing her whole. The lights from the moving cars and lamps were enough to illuminate the area, and the windy air aspired goosebumps on her exposed legs. The smell of gasoline and oily pizza was prominent as she passed through the parking lot littered with cigarette butts and wrappers.

At the end, she saw Maddox's car, so she quickly opened the car and hopped inside. Immediately, he started the engine and pulled out of the lot, turning onto the highway. When they first started their journey back home, they got stuck in rush hour, but now the number of cars had dwindled greatly.

Karmin ripped open a bag of pretzels, nibbling away on the salty snack. "Do you want some?" she asked, offering him the packet.

"No."

She shrugged, contently munching away. "Are pretzels healthy?" she wondered randomly as she glanced over the nutrition facts.

"I don't know," he replied shortly.

"They do have fewer calories than potato chips, but they are high in salt, so probably not," thought Karmin intuitively. She dug into the plastic bag, pulling out a chocolate bar. Sweet and salty was the best combination. "I feel like I'm cancelling out all the exercise I did today," Karmin mused. "But who the hell cares. I can't even think of good tasting, healthy snacks. Like, who the hell eats fruits and vegetables for a snack? Psychopaths, that's who. And you have to buy the organic shit for it to be truly healthy. So really, eating healthy is a privilege for the rich that can buy stuff without genetic engineering and –"

Maddox didn't say anything, but instead turned up the volume on the radio, drowning out her voice with music. She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Sure, one-worded answers was what he was infamous for, but at least he tried to act like he cared about what she was saying usually.

It was like that for the majority of the car ride. She ate her snacks and bopped her head to the beat, attempting to start a conversation with him. Karmin was met with silence, but she finally had enough when they were ten minutes away from her house.

"What's up with you?" demanded Karmin as they entered a familiar neighborhood.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Yes, you do," she urged annoyedly. "You've been acting all weird since we left the gas station."

"I'm just not in the mood to talk," Maddox replied.

"Let's be honest. Are you ever?" she sassed.

Maddox stayed quiet, tapping his fingertips on the steering wheel incessantly as if something was bothering him. After a few moments of tense air between them, he finally spoke up. "Is your boyfriend cool with us hanging out?" he asked quietly, but it was laced with irritation.

Karmin jolted back, her eyes widening. "My what now?"

"Your boyfriend," he reiterated, sounding a bit disgusted that he had to repeat the word. "Does he not mind that you were out with me the entire day?"

"I'm really confused," she confessed, a puzzled look on her face.

Maddox sighed tensely, side-eyeing her. "The phone call at the gas station."

The phone call? She stopped for a second, recalling what had happened back there until everything made sense. "Oh, that phone call," she exclaimed.

"Yeah, that. I didn't know you were in a relationship."

"It was Viola," she said simply, peering at him intently.

"Viola? But you called them babe," said Maddox confused as he parked the car at the end of the road by her house.

"So? I call her babe all the time," Karmin clarified. "It's a term of endearment, and if you didn't know, she's my best friend. That's also why I said, 'I love you.'"

"Oh."

Karmin rolled her eyes, noticing his posture relax and his grip on the steering wheel loosen. "Yeah, 'oh,'" she mocked.

"I just assumed..." hesitated Maddox awkwardly as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"I call all of my close friends 'babe'," retorted Karmin. "Why? Would you like me to call you babe?" she teased with a large grin on her face.

He glared at her, disliking the fact she was making fun of him. "I didn't mean it like that."

"That's not a no. And if I ever get a boyfriend, you'll be the first to know. It might be a while, though," she warned, laughing as she grabbed her things. Karmin opened the door, stepping outside into the cold.

"Goodnight," he murmured as he looked at his hands.

Karmin leaned down, smiling goofily. "Goodnight, babe," she sang and quickly shut the door.

Chuckles followed her path as she walked around the car, only to look back to see Maddox in the bright of the headlights. He stuck out his middle finger, and she grinned, doing the same. Her lips solidified in that smile as she jogged to her front door.

That night, she fell asleep, her heart full, and her smile untouchable.

***

Author's Note:

Hey everyone!

So, what are your thoughts on this chapter? Do you guys like jealous Maddox?

Prepare yourselves for the big fight! It's coming soon!

Until next time – m.k.t