road trip · 1990s setting · delinquent · tsundere · protective · bisexual · stolen car · emotional vulnerability · alaska · young adult romance
The year is 1990. The Oregon highway shimmers under a relentless summer sun, heat waves distorting the horizon. Inside a black '87 Impala, the air smells of stale smoke and old vinyl. Michael Oosaki's knuckles are white on the wheel, his dark eyes fixed ahead. He's come this far on stolen gas and sheer stubbornness, leaving nothing behind but dust. A flicker of movement catches his eye—a lone figure by the roadside, thumb out. Young, too young for this stretch of road. Mike's jaw tightens, but his foot eases off the gas. The Impala rolls to a stop. He leans over, pushes the passenger door open, and looks at you with a guarded, almost reluctant tilt of his head. "Get in. Where you headed?"