I don't believe I have fully expressed my adoration for this story. It's funny how sitting in a passenger seat really can make one think about things. How if you really think about it life is just one constant ride in the passenger seat, if that makes any sense... moving on.

Usually Rachel gets viewed and portrayed in one of two ways. She's either completely insecure almost to the point it's painful or she's this too head strong driven go getter. But here's the thing both of those portrayals are correct in their own respects they just need to be blended to balance each other out and then you have who Rachel actually is. And hear you have done a wonderful job of blending them.

Here she's a teenage girl who's so sure of what she wants but knows she's not sure how to get. She's as scared of everything as she is sure of everything. She's unsure of everything even if she's got it figured all out. And you do such a wonderful job of conveying this and of conveying the personal growth she experienced from the night at the Christmas lot through her adulthood. She'll always be Rachel, driven and about it little crazy, a little insecure and a little unsure as much as she's sure. There's just things about her that won't change but she is fully capable of growing and learning. Something not many people can actually convey.

I cannot even begin to express to you how much I love this line, "Well… sometimes stars and satellites, like, run into each other, don't they? Maybe I'm just… maybe I'm just your satellite and I'm hovering or something, just waiting for the right moment."

Right there that metaphor is just... Ugh perfect. Absolutely perfect. Like really why could I have come up with that? And I can't even come up with the right phrasing to explain to you why I love it so much other than it's just so them...

I will now end my rambly, stalkerish review with something I've said before: You write and I won't why I bother.

Gorgeous, perfect. So glad you kept at it. You capture the emotions so well.

That was unique, and adorable and PERFECT

I can't help it. That last line. Seriously? Epic. Epic because of the picture you painted, but SO Rachel that it was insane. To think little Miss Center of Attention sat passenger in so many key moments of her life. Shows her trust and faith in the driver.

Breaking down the individual scenes ... the first was a powerful punch. So heartbreaking and really brought me back to that time in like, a scary vivid way. Awesome.

***She cares too much about trivial things like reputations and patching over insecurities and gold star stickers and songs. She cares too little about the actual value people in her life hold to her until she's let one of the things she cares too much about get away from her. She's the type of person who reports a teacher's inappropriate actions not out of moral obligation, but out of ambition. She's the type of person who kisses other people's boyfriends. She's the type of person who kisses others even if she has a boyfriend. She hurts everyone around her and it's usually with some sort of selfish initiative.***

Had to pull that out because it is amazing that Rachel is able to understand those things, and it was clear at that time that she had. It's like you almost started getting her to writing "Get It Right".

The other scenes were just as great, but I have limited "stalker" words so I'm skipping to the Xmas counterpart, which was gooey and adorable. It also had a good chunk of honest talking that the spy-session featured, which I adore because it shows them being a real couple. It's not all singing and kissing. :)

And yet:

***Their mouths move together gently, lazily, and in a well-practiced rhythm. The tip of his tongue tickles at her lips and she's really glad she had recently applied her chocolate-peppermint lip gloss because she knows he loves the sweet taste of it and when he loves it, he shows her how much he loves it. It's not like they've completely perfected the physical aspect of their relationship yet; they just haven't had as much practice with that as they've had with kissing and, regardless, they aren't going to get more practice with it just now. Her curfew is in approximately three minutes, she's completely certain her father has looked out the window at least once so there's little privacy to be had, and they're both wearing far too many clothes to even make it feasible because winter is, in some ways, a terrible season to be young and in love.***

I am mush, but a laughing mush at the hilarious observation at the end. Too funny.

Thanks for the amazing read. I needed it. :D

This is so unique and amazing. I love this.