Official Description: He watched and was there whenever she needed him and she thought he was something while he knew she was everything. She was brilliant, wrong and perfect. AU-Human, OOC. Based on a boy. ExB
Word Count: 23,076
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Smellyia’s novella When We Drove All Night is one of those classic Twifics that sticks with you long after you’ve read it. It’s been at least a year since I completed it, and it still rises above a blur of other fics in my mind. Smellyia’s unique writing style, coupled with her vivid descriptions and creative use of the Twi characters make this story a fresh read, even now. Her attention to detail—smells, colors, textures like grime and smoke—are the hallmark of a seasoned writer.
When We Drove All Night is a coming-of-age romance infused with a healthy dose of angst. Edward serves as our narrator, telling us about leaving home for the first time after high school graduation. Girl and boy grow up together. Boy loves girl. Girl cannot be tamed, but boy will follow her to the ends of the earth to try. Edward sees Bella for who she is—a frightened, insecure young woman, though she desperately tries to show a different face to their peers.
“I watched her from afar. How could I not? I had been doing so since we were young.”
Edward plans to leave home for college, finally putting Bella behind him. But, stifled by her small existence, Bella rashly hops in the car next to him. She has nothing, not even shoes on her feet. What follows is an Odyssey-like road trip filled with old diners, dive-bars, and gas stations peppered with cameos from the Cullen clan and other characters. Smellyia has intelligently re-cast them as virtual strangers—waitresses, customers, and bar owners—breathing new life into people who have become fanfic cliches. Each character carries a life lesson to teach Edward and Bella as they travel to the coast.
I went over to where Jasper was sitting and inquired about what he could do for my empty tank. “Is it possible to get some gas?”
Jasper put his piece of wood down and closed his knife before sticking it in his pocket. “Sure.”
I followed him outside and opened up the lid to my gas tank. He put the nozzle in and started the pump. We stood there for a few moments letting the sound of fluid being poured be the only thing to make noise.
“So that girl, Bella. She looks like she’s had a helluva day. Anyone could feel the pain rolling off her.” Jasper said this while staring elsewhere.
Pain? What pain? Bella was fine. He didn’t understand her.
Common sense tells Edward to cut Bella loose before he becomes a casualty to her fiery self-destruction. Throughout the story, Edward nearly grabs the keys and walks away from her—that is what drives the delicious angst of this story.
“My keys weighed heavy in my pocket. The metallic jingle they produced as I reached down to finger them validated me. They were perfect for relieving the itch in my hands to do something…I felt the wet prick my eyes. I stood up, conflicted but decisive. Bella could manage. She would be just fine.”
Smellyia does a beautiful job reflecting on true-to-life questions about relationships as people transition from teenagers to adults. It’s usually at this point in our lives that we realize there are others outside of ourselves who might see the world differently than we do. At times, When We Drove All Night’s reflections become too abstract, bordering on confusing. But the writer almost always grounds the story again in a scene, which lessens the intangibility of the character’s thoughts. She offers insight into what it means to love, and that loving requires mutually putting a partner’s needs above our own. The big question of the story is, will Edward and Bella realize this before it’s too late, and they’ve worn each other down to the point where there is no repairing their relationship?
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