His shoulders tensed again, but steadily he reverted back to normal. "It's no biggie. Things could have been worse," Phoenix shrugged a bit, giving her a little smile. "I was starting to get distracted too- which isn't any better than being startled."
"Definitely not, we don't want a distracted driver now do we?" Cicada teased him a little as she eventually put her hand back in her lap. She let out a little laugh, "But I'm glad I could pull you from your stupor."
"Nope, we definitely don't. That could end badly." Phoenix hummed lightly, taking in a deep breath before letting out slowly. He was mostly relaxed, besides a few spare thoughts prodding at him. But he did his best to push them away. "Was the silence bugging you?"
"Not really," Cicada shrugged as she glanced over at him. She smiled a little before letting out a sigh, "Sometimes silence can be really nice and I enjoy it a to, but it felt like it was getting tense. Ya know?"
"Yeah… that may have been my fault. I started freaking out again." Phoenix mumbled a little, puffing his cheeks up before letting out another deep breath. His focus was mainly on the road, but he occasionally glanced to her. "But I'm over it. No big deal."
"Okay, if you say you're over it then it's all good," Cicada smiled back at him. She hummed along to the music playing on the radio smiling over at him, "Sooo how close do you think we are?"
"Mm, about an hour or two away." Phoenix told her in a light tone, smiling softly when he replied. He was purposely trying not to be exact, so she had less of a chance of figuring out where they were headed. "You wanna play some kind of game to pass the time?"
“A game? That sounds like a good way to pass an hour or so,” Cicada smiled softly back at him. She hadn’t expected it to still be hours away and that only increased her now growing anxiety. She didn’t think they were going there, but it was now a possibility, “So what game?”
"I don't actually have anything specific in mind," Phoenix started, glancing over to her when he spoke. "Just wanted to know if you did. We could play never-have-I-ever. Or two truths and lie. Or if you have a better idea, just stop me."
"Two truths and a lie sounds fun," Cicada replied with a little smile. She hummed in a moment in thought before leaning back in her seat, "Okay I'm going first since you're driving. One, I used to have a cat named Stabbington, Stabby for short. Two, I used to be in theater waaay back when I was younger. And Three, I play the viola and used to have a scholarship for playing.
"First guess would be the theater. If I recall, you said you were never a big fan of it." Phoenix said rather quickly, seemingly pretty sure of his answer. It was a random thing to remember, but he was pretty sure that's what she had said, when he pointed out the theater. But that may have been himself.
"Well damn, you got it right," Cicada was grinning a little. She hadn't expected him to remember that comment considering she didn't even remember making it, "I thought you might have guessed old Stabbington as the lie."
"That was my immediate thought, but I figured that's what you wanted me to think." Phoenix shrugged a bit, giving her a little smile. "Anyways, my turn. Hmm… oh, I got something. One, my mother was born in Russia. Two, I practically have all of the first high-school musical memorized. Three, I've actually dated a guy before you."
"I'm going to guess it's the mother Russia one," Cicada said smiling a little at the joke she sort of made. She didn't know a lot about his mom, but that's probably why he picked it. Also, him dating a guy and having high-school musical memorized sounded something like Phe would do.
Phoenix shook his head with a little smirk. "Nope. My mom was actually born in Russia- making me partially Russian." He hummed lightly, drumming his fingers on the wheel once again. "I've never had a boyfriend- but I came close. I had a crush on a guy, but my sister didn't seem to know that. Or she knew perfectly well, and decided that she liked him more."
"Damn that's harsh," Cicada responded wincing just slightly. She hadn't expected his sister to be that ruthless, or did she? Who knew really. She hummed for a moment, "Okay I got some. One, my father was a Native American. Two, I've never left the country. And three, I've dated a girl before."
"Meh, it's not that big of a deal." Phoenix shrugged a bit, listening to her attentively. He let everything she had said sink in, as he thought about it. "Mm… three? You don't seem like the type to have had a girlfriend. Most girls are too excitable, and that just doesn't seem like something you'd be up for."
"Nope, it was the first one. My dad was Latino, not Native American," Cicada corrected him with a little smile. She leaned back in her seat with a big smile on, "And I definitely dated a girl. It lasted about a week before we both decided we were better off as friends."
"Oh, alright. You got further than I had." Phoenix laughed softly, clicking his tongue as he thought. "Mm… One, I let my sister dye my hair a few years back. Two, I've never actually had chocolate milk. Three, I hate the song 'Ice Ice Baby' by Vanilla Ice." He hummed, seemingly a little too strong towards the last one for it to be a lie.
"Okay, no need to hate on Ice Ice Baby so much," Cicada laughed as she heard that comment. She hummed a little in thought before she made a good guess, "I think you have had chocolate milk. Becuase you letting your sister dye your hair just sounds like something you would do."
"Yup, you got it. Though I've actually only had it once. I dunno what was wrong with it, but I remember hating it." Phoenix admitted, smiling lightly as he thought about it. "And in case you were wondering, she dyed it purple. Gladly, it didn't last very long."
"You probably would look cute with dyed hair, maybe just not purple," Cicada commented as she smiled over at him, "Also how dare you hate chocolate milk. Okay, sooo. One, I've never had an emo phase. Two, I had a princess phase. And three, I love strawberry milk."
"Would I now? Well, I'll have to be careful where I sleep then. I don't want to wake up with different colored hair one morning." Phoenix laughed lightly, glancing over to her with a smile. He was completely joking as he knew she wouldn't do that. "Three? I dunno, that just doesn't seem like something you'd like very much."
"Nope, strawberrry milk is amazing okay?" Cicada replied with a light laugh. She had a big grin on, "Shockingly, I have had an emo phase. It was back when I was foster hopping and my hair was basically black constantly."
"Ahh, that was my second guess. I'm pretty sure every girl has had their princess stage at one point in their life, so that doesn't surprise me." Phoenix hummed lightly, his smile picking up. "Alright, my turn. One, I used to be a huge Sherlock nerd. Two, I still love a good animated film. Three, I use to work at the arcade I took you to."
"Yeah, I was like 5 and I grew out of that real quick," Cicada groaned as her head rested against the headrest. She let out a long sigh before eventually making her guess, "Those are all so believable. I'm betting it's the Sherlock one?"
"Nope, it was the arcade. I could have worked there, but decided against it when I got a better job offer." Phoenix hummed a little, glancing over to her. "You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Cicada looked back at him. She gave him a half-smile as she let out another sigh, "Damn, that would have been my second guess. Everyone loves a good animated film. One, I used to work in a movie theater. Two, I still watch anime, occasionally. Three, I've never read Harry Potter."
Phoenix nodded a bit as he listened, not wanting to interrupt. When she finished, he thought about it for a couple of seconds before answering. "One? My second guess would be two." He hummed a bit, glancing over to her.
“You’re right, it’s one,” Cicada nodded with a slight smile, “I worked in retail and trust me, I do not miss it one bit.”