Chapter 14 - The Road Trip Nobody Asked For

Chapter 14: The Road Trip Nobody Asked For

When Ivan finally submitted his last assignment and received the magic words—“All graduation requirements fulfilled”—ABIX knew it was time.

A celebration wasn’t just due.

It was necessary.

So they did what any overworked, overstretched, emotionally bonded quartet would do.

They planned a road trip.

They borrowed Crystal’s uncle’s car (a Toyota Wish that had clearly seen things) and charted a route from Johor Bahru up north to Penang—seven hours of winding roads, petrol station snacks, Spotify fights, and potential emotional breakthroughs.

“We are going to scream, cry, and eat our way through Malaysia,” Crystal declared.

“Mostly eat,” Ivan clarified.

“Can someone else drive first?” Isabelle asked. “I get car sick before we even start moving.”

Aleem, already buckling up, nodded. “I’ll take first shift.”

Highways & Heartbeats

By the time they hit the second rest stop, ABIX had officially descended into madness.

Isabelle had claimed the middle back seat, surrounded by medicated oil and mints. Ivan was navigating using Google Maps but kept missing exits. Crystal was DJ-ing, bouncing between 90s Malay hits, lo-fi, and random Bollywood remixes.

Aleem, surprisingly, just smiled through it all. Calm. Grounded. Until—

At a small roadside kopitiam they stopped at for lunch, it happened.

A girl walked past their table with a tray of iced drinks. Short black hair. White tee. Cat-shaped tote bag.

Aleem’s breath caught.

It was her.

Hana.

The girl from the JB alley. The vinyl record stall. The quiet moment that had never quite left him.

She turned. Saw him. Paused.

And smiled.

A Second Hello

They talked again—this time over teh peng and curry puffs.

The others watched from a distance.

“She’s real,” Isabelle whispered.

“I thought she was a fever dream,” Ivan muttered.

Crystal leaned forward, eyes gleaming. “Guys. Is this finally happening? Is our boy falling in love?”

Ivan raised a brow. “Do we intervene? Or let him cook?”

“Let. Him. Cook,” Crystal whispered with reverence.

Aleem returned to the car with a look they hadn’t seen before—soft, uncertain, a little stunned.

“She’s staying in Penang for an art residency,” he said, settling into the seat. “We exchanged numbers.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then Crystal screamed into her seatbelt.

Isabelle clapped with glee. Ivan reached forward and gave Aleem a proud, silent fist bump.

They didn’t pry further.

They didn’t need to.

They saw the way his thumb lingered on the message thread that night. How he zoned out during supper. How he smiled—quietly, like a secret just for himself.

The Heart Behind the Teasing

As they arrived in Penang and checked into a tiny beachside guesthouse, the chaos resumed—Isabelle struggling with sand in her shoes, Ivan attempting to fix the water heater with a fork, Crystal attempting to vlog and falling off a bench.

But beneath it all, something else was happening.

They began to watch Aleem differently.

Crystal made sure he had space whenever he got a text from Hana. Isabelle made him pack a nice shirt “just in case.” Ivan casually Googled “date spots in Penang” and pretended it was for “content research.”

They didn’t tease (much). They didn’t push.

They simply supported.

Because after all the times Aleem had been their rock, their shield, their unshakable calm—

It was his turn.

To feel.

To fall.

To maybe, just maybe, be loved back.

The Night Before the End

On their last night, they lit sparklers on the beach, watching the soft orange glow reflect against the waves.

Aleem sat a little apart, phone in hand. Smiling.

“She’s meeting me for breakfast tomorrow,” he said.

Crystal bumped her shoulder against his. “You nervous?”

“Terrified.”

“Good,” she said. “Means it matters.”

Ivan threw a sparkler into the air. “Bro, just remember—if she breaks your heart, we break her tyres.”

Isabelle raised her sparkler. “To Aleem. Our unshakable rock.”

“To love,” Crystal added.

“To ABIX,” Aleem said softly.

They smiled.

Not just because of what was, or what might be.

But because even as the world moved forward and hearts started to shift…

Some bonds never break.

They just grow.