Rory forced his head up but couldn’t look Sebastian in the eyes.

Sebastian gestured to the car. “Yours?”

“It’s a hired car.”

“Ready to go?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Rory said.

Sebastian snorted. “I’m very ready.” He walked over to the passenger door, then raised his eyebrow at Rory. “Well?”

Rory unlocked the car, then climbed inside. “Where do you want me to drive?”

“Can you … can you drive through the city.”

“Sure.”

Sebastian bobbed his head, then flung his bag of belongings into the back.

“I’m really sorry—”

Sebastian raised his finger in the air, then made a shushing sound. “Not here. Not yet.”

Rory swallowed, then bobbed his head. If Sebastian wanted to pretend they were anything but normal for a few minutes, Rory wasn’t gonna stop him.

“Okay…”

The drive was surreal, he had been expecting Sebastian to growl at him, launch at him, strangle him to death right there and then in the prison car park, but instead he lounged back in the seat, and lowered his window.

He stuck his hand out and twitched his fingers as the air rushed by him.

Rory drove through the city with no destination in mind. He passed the cinema, the train station, the clubs, the pubs—there was nothing of interest, but Sebastian was transfixed. He craned his neck to see the highest buildings and snorted at the names of restaurants.

“It’s amazing what changes.” Sebastian mumbled.

“It’s been sixteen years.”

“The same roads, and street names, but everything on them different. It’s like an alien planet. I mean what the hell is Oodles?”

“It’s a sushi chain. Quite popular.”

“And that place?”

Rory glanced at the building, and the line outside. “Flip Over?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a load of trampolines. You go there and you jump around.” Rory scrunched his face at his explanation, it didn’t do the place justice.

“You’ve been there?”

“Yeah. With my…” Rory trailed off, then shook his head. He couldn’t go there, it hurt too much. “I’ve been there before.”

“What happened to having a trampoline in the back yard? And all this 3D rubbish on the movie posters.”

“There was 3d movies before you went inside, surely?”

“With the cardboard glasses, one side red, one side blue.”

A laugh bubbled up from Rory’s chest. “No, not like that.”

“Then what, does someone jump out the screen and punch you in the face?”

Rory laughed. “No, it looks slightly better, like stands out a bit. Virtual reality headsets will blow your mind.”

“What are they?”

“Games—”

“I’m too old for your console games. Cards, that’s what I’m good at.”

“Because you cheat.”

“You still bitter about me winning all your phone cards?”

“You didn’t win, you cheated.”

“Still won.”

“It didn’t count.”

“What about you pretending you weren’t a chess genius?”