the silver lining

Grayson. Surfer. Part time photographer.

[graysshq]

reinhartmuses​:

“Yes, because I know you’ll never post anything,” Emma rolled her eyes affectionately. She loved Grayson with her whole heart but he was social media challenged. If she didn’t keep up with him constantly, she’d have no idea what he was doing. There were quite a few friends of theirs from school and of course, their family, who were eager to keep up with their road trip adventure so Emma had designated herself the official memory keeper. She posted it and then tucked her phone away, finishing the rest of her breakfast. She didn’t want them to stop again until they were at least in San Diego.

“Let me know when you’re ready,” she told him as she fished out some money for their bill and a tip before standing up. “I’m going outside.”

“Hey now, I do post sometimes!” It wasn’t often though. Grayson didn’t find social media particularly difficult it was just something he didn’t really bother with very much. He preferred to live in the moment for the most part and while he enjoyed taking photos and capturing memories, especially on his old film camera he’d restored a few summers back, they didn’t often make it to his instagram. He a small following on the platform and he knew there was a few people who’d be happier if he posted more often but for now he was just happy using it as it was. He’d finished the last of his fruit and was just emptying his coffee mug when Emma got up and Grayson nodded over the top of the cup. 

He got up too a minute later and added to her money, thanking the waiter as he walked past and out to join Emma by the car. “Ready to keep going?”

[graysshq]

reinhartmuses​:

“Wow. We’re bad,” Emma teased. There had to be some beaches that let you camp there, right? She’d have to do some Googling when they got back in the car. She was going to try her hardest to not stay in hotel rooms the entire time because one, it’d really deplete their savings and two, you needed the camping experience on a road trip. Cutting up her food, Emma took a few bites and continued to peruse through her notebook. She had been working on it for years, going through the specific routes they had decided to take and starring the towns and attractions they wanted to visit. It was going to be a summer to remember.

Pulling out her phone, Emma took a quick snap of Grayson as he was eating and smiled when he looked up at her. “Just documenting every part of this that I can,” she told him cheerfully and leaned her fork over to steal a bit of his breakfast.

Grayson was grateful when the food arrived. He was starving and everything smelt amazing so he was eager to tuck into it. Everything was delicious and the pancakes were heavenly, exactly what he wanted on the start of their road trip. “Are you going to instagram this for the whole world to see?” He asked Emma as she took the picture of him and he drank from his coffee. Grayson really enjoyed photography and he had an instagram for his work but apart from that and the odd personal picture he posted to it, he didn’t use social media all that much. Still, it’d be nice to have the memories of the road trip for the two of them to look back on. 

[graysshq]

reinhartmuses​:

Everything Grayson had just said sounded delicious to Emma…apart from the eggs on toast. If she had eggs, she had them scrambled and loaded up with cheese. “Can I just get some chocolate chip pancakes with bacon and eggs?” She asked. Really, her growling stomach was dying to order as much food as possible but she knew she’d be stuffed after a few bites. “And with some orange juice.” She smiled at the waitress as she handed over their menus and once she was gone, leaned back in her seat. “Isn’t it? I’m so excited to see all the places across the country as we travel. Every state’s going to be so unique.” Just the thought filled her wanderlust spirit with excitement.

She pulled out her notebook and stared down at it. Their first route was along the Pacific Coast since they were naturally starting in California and once they hit all the hot spots, they were heading to Oregon. As cliche as it seemed, she couldn’t wait to hit the little hipster city that was Portland. Grayson, a coffee snob, was bound to love it there. “God, I’m so excited to fall asleep to a sunset tonight. Do you think we can get away with camping on the beach?”

Grayson thanked the waitress as he handed back over his menu. The diner was cute and quaint and there wasn’t too many people in it at this time of morning so it was actually a perfect place to stop and eat before they hit the road again. He had loaded a bag up with snacks for the car ride but it wasn’t quite the same as a cooked meal. He gave the waitress a smile when she came back with his coffee and Emma’s orange juice and he took a sip from his immediately. Delicious. Hot and strong just how he liked it. 

“Me too, I think it’ll be really interesting to see all the different places we can stop at along the way” Grayson was excited to explore all the little towns along the coast. “Yeah I think we can. I’m pretty sure there’s campsites that are on the beach. Or we can just wait until it’s dark and go for it”

[rootsinyourdrcmlcnd]

graysshq​:

Grayson was trying to focus on the road so he couldn’t look over and see Tiffanys face or emotions. “Thank you” He eventually responded to her “But i’m not going to, we’ve been talking about this trip for as long as I can remember so you’re stuck with just me for the next few months” He joked and drank from his coffee. The cup was nearly empty and they were coming up on a service exit so Grayson took it. 

“Ready for some breakfast?” He asked Emma. The traffic wasn’t too bad yet but it was definitely getting busier so it seemed like a good place to stop. There was an old 80′s looking diner so Grayson pulled the car up to park in front of that and then turned the car off and stuffed the keys into his pockets. 

Emma tried to bite back a smile but she wasn’t sure if she was successful. “Yeah, breakfast sounds delicious.” Now that she didn’t have to worry about Tiffany butting into their road trip, Emma could breathe and relax. She was sure the girl would still somehow try to worm her way in but that was another concern for another day. Today, they started their summer and they ate some pancakes. As soon as Grayson parked, Emma got out and stretched her limbs before slinging her crossbody purse on and stepping inside.

God, she loved cute little diners like these. She loved the whole aesthetic of them. A waitress showed them to a booth and Emma slid in and picked up a menu. She typically went for the same thing wherever she ate but it was nice to pretend she wanted to see her options.

[graysshq]

“Great” Grayson joined Emma inside and sat down at the seat across from her, studying the menu. It all looked delicious and he was starving so he was looking forward to it. “Yeah can I please have a coffee, and the number 3 so the eggs on toast with bacon, hash browns, pancakes and the fruit salad? Thank you. Emma?” He asked her and let her order what she wanted. “This a nice little place”

[graysshq]

reinhartmuses​:

An ugly seed of jealousy bloomed in Emma’s chest at the thought of Tiffany joining them. She wanted to be chill - to be graceful - but there was a surge of protectiveness. “Oh,” she answered delicately and kept mum on the million other petty things she wanted to say. This was her trip with Grayson, and they had had it planned for years. Tiffany always stole him from her for every other thing, why couldn’t she back off the one thing him and Emma shared that was just theirs? “She wants to be a model. How fitting.” It wasn’t very feminist of her to scoff derisively at Tiffany’s career aspirations but she couldn’t help it. There was something about the girl that awakened her hateful side.

Still, Grayson didn’t deserve his girlfriend to be trash talked so Emma decided to behave. “If you do ask her to come, I won’t be mad.” Lie. “The more, the merrier.” Bigger lie. She sipped from her coffee again to avoid saying more things that would backfire on her and instead focused on finding a radio station for them.

Grayson was trying to focus on the road so he couldn’t look over and see Tiffanys face or emotions. “Thank you” He eventually responded to her “But i’m not going to, we’ve been talking about this trip for as long as I can remember so you’re stuck with just me for the next few months” He joked and drank from his coffee. The cup was nearly empty and they were coming up on a service exit so Grayson took it. 

“Ready for some breakfast?” He asked Emma. The traffic wasn’t too bad yet but it was definitely getting busier so it seemed like a good place to stop. There was an old 80′s looking diner so Grayson pulled the car up to park in front of that and then turned the car off and stuffed the keys into his pockets. 

[graysshq]

reinhartmuses​:

“Okay,” Emma shrugged. She actually hated driving so this arrangement worked out perfectly. The less she drove, the better. She climbed over into the passenger seat and was careful not to spill her coffee. Buckling up and plugging her phone in so that they could listen to her very specific road trip Spotify playlist, Emma smiled over at Grayson. God, she was so happy to be doing this with him. They had planned this out for so long and had talked about it since they were just entering puberty and now it was actually happening. The possibilities for what their summer would entail were endless and it gave her literal goosebumps to imagine what was in store for them.

The only roadblock that had had potential to derail them was Tiffany, Grayson’s girlfriend, and even she hadn’t managed to deter this from happening. “So is Tiffany still pissed you’re leaving her for the summer?” Emma asked, peering over at Grayson over her coffee. Secretly, Emma felt like her best friend could do so much better but she kept her mouth shut on that. There was no use starting an argument.

Grayson pulled the car out of the street and started the drive, checking only once that the gate to Emma’s place had automatically clicked shut when he’d pressed the button on her keys. If he was leaving his car at her house for a few months then he wanted it to be safe. Not that he didn’t think it would be, Emma’s parents had practically raised him so he wasn’t that concerned. 

“She is, yeah” He answered Emma’s question and took a drink of his coffee as the car veered onto the interstate. “Convinced herself that she’s going to join us for the LA part of the trip, to kick start her modelling career but I haven’t decided if I want to tell her when we hit LA” Tiffany was great and Grayson was really into her but Emma and her were total opposites and while he knew Emma played nice when she was around, he also knew she wasn’t Tiffany’s biggest fan. “If I wanted her to come along I would’ve asked her back in eight grade you know?”

[graysshq]

reinhartmuses​:

“Oh, yum!” Emma had been ready to guzzle that coffee down at breakfast but a head start was just what she needed. She took a sip and then watched Grayson as he deposited his bags into her trunk as well. It looked like he had tried to pack as light as her which was good. They’d have to find somewhere to wash their dirty clothes and they could always store anything new they bought in the large plastic bag Emma had brought along. She tried not to worry too much about the logistics of everything - this was an adventure and it could be worked out as they went.

“Sounds good,” Emma agreed and cupped her Starbucks mug before getting into the drivers seat. “We’re hitting San Diego first, right?” She asked. Their small town in California was only a little ways away but Emma wanted to travel as much of the state as she could before they got to Oregon. “You’ve still got to teach me how to surf.”

Grayson took a drink of his coffee and set it down in one of the cup holders in the front of the car. The car wasn’t too overloaded which was good. They had enough to be able to get by, some food and camping gear but that was about it. “I’ll drive today and you can take tomorrow, sound good?” Getting into the drivers side of Emma’s car, Grayson readjusted the mirrors and got ready before putting on his seat belt. “And I bought my extra board so if we hit a good place with a beach, I can definitely teach you. Hopefully it won’t be too cold yet” The weather was cooling down now but being on the coast it was yet to get really cold so they still had a while.

[graysshq]

reinhartmuses​:

closed starter. @graysshq​

plot: two best friends planned a road trip for their high school graduation. the summer after senior year is here…

Emma slammed her car trunk shut and leaned against it as she waited for him to show up. The sun was slowly rising and soon, the streets would be congested with traffic. She couldn’t wait. Anticipation spread through her at the thought of what the next two-three months would consist of. They had been planning this road trip for their whole lives, practically, and now it was here. Her savings account had been emptied, her suitcases packed, and her notebook scribbled in with places to go and things to do and see. This was going to be the best summer of their lives and it all started right now.

When his car pulled up, Emma smiled and straightened her posture. She normally wasn’t such a cheerful early bird but it was different when you were excited to be rising with the chickens. “Hey,” she greeted him, reaching over to bring him into a deep hug. “I’m so excited. You all ready? I figured we could stop and get breakfast somewhere, figure out where we’re going first.”

Making his way through the streets to Emma’s house, Grayson drove the same trip he’d done more times than he could count. A party the night before to celebrate the end of school had seemed like a good idea but now Grayson was tired and just praying the coffee’s he’d bought for himself and Emma would be enough to perk him up. Despite his eye bags, he smiled when he pulled up to Emma and reciprocated her hug. “It should be a crime to be up this early.” Grayson teased her and tipped his sunglasses down to give her a look. “You’re lucky I love you” He told her, grabbing his bags out of the car and then reaching into the front “And it’s because I love you that I got you a coffee, vanilla latte” He spoke again, handing the warm drink to her. 

“And breakfast sounds good, maybe we can drive for a little bit and then stop at a diner on the way? Peak hour will start in about forty minutes so if we drive until then we can eat breakfast and miss the traffic?” He offered, pulling his surf board off the top of his car and grabbing the ties to secure it to Emma’s roof racks.