Elliot's POV

⠀"Air France from New York to Charles de Gaulle boarding now. Please have your flight passes out and ready to be checked."

⠀I clicked my phone lock and slid it into my pocket, standing up and gathering my luggage. A few of the people around me stood as well and I followed through the terminal to a flight attendant that helped us board. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I immediately pulled it back out, annoyed when I realized it was just a text from Harley.

⠀Have a safe trip. Oliver and I miss you already!

            ⠀I frowned and clicked the lock again. Her text wasn't the one I was waiting for.

            ⠀Fortunately my spot sat against the window, so I shoved my luggage above me and slid across the row to my seat. Planes made me a little nervous, but my mind was a little too preoccupied to really feel any anxiety.

            ⠀Allie's face flashed in my mind and I closed my eyes as a feeling of embarrassment washed over me. I'd confessed and been rejected. Of course, I knew I was going to be rejected before I even thought of telling her. Paul had always had her heart. I was foolish to ever think otherwise. I knew it from the beginning, but I'd let my feelings continue to grow. I did this to myself.

            ⠀I crossed my arms and looked out the window. The plane was noisy as the rest of the passengers settled in. If Allie were here, it'd be even louder.

⠀Stop thinking about her, I scolded myself. But it was impossible to not think about her. No one had gotten under my skin like she had. No one had tried to get under my skin like she had. She'd crept her way into my heart and now I was left alone to deal with it.

⠀Maybe things will go sour with Paul...

             ⠀I clenched my fist. No, I wouldn't want that. Paul and Allie belonged together. It was sickening to see how well the suited each other. Even if he was a scrawny man-child...

            ⠀My chest hurt— an unfamiliar ache. I figured it was because of her; my life had changed in many ways because of her. I myself had changed because of her. It was hard to imagine what it was going to be like to go without seeing her almost every day. Of course I'd miss her, but I couldn't admit that to anyone. Only Allie needed to know my feelings.

            ⠀My phone buzzed again and I tried to play it cool for approximately five seconds before I went straight for it.

Have a safe flight, Elliot! I'll send you all of the updates of what's going on between Allie and Mr. Russet! :P

            ⠀I scowled a bit. Why, again, had Allie given Aspen my phone number? Screw off, I typed back to her.

            ⠀I went back to my messages and scrolled down to Allie's name. Should I text her? I wasn't sure if I'd be able to receive messages once we were in the air. I didn't want to wait to find out if she'd won Nationals or not. I had no doubt in my mind she would blow everyone away, but I still felt antsy. I knew how much she wanted it. I wanted it for her just as badly.

            ⠀What if I came off as needy, though? Would she think I was heartbroken and becoming clingy? Deciding I didn't want that, I put my phone down again. I could wait. She'd text me when she had time. Unless she was with Paul... would she even think of texting me? Or maybe she'd forgotten about me already?

             ⠀"You're crazy," I muttered to myself. I wasn't acting like myself. I needed to get over it.

            ⠀"Talking to yourself is the first sign of craziness," a voice from above me commented.

             ⠀Pressing my lips into a flat line, I looked up to see a girl with long, chestnut hair smiling down at me. I didn't smile back and her smile faltered a bit, but didn't die. I let out a light sigh and then turned back to the window. Of course I'd have someone who liked to talk sitting next to me during this flight.

            ⠀"Urghg," I heard and looked back at the girl to see her struggling to lift her luggage up onto the shelf above us.

            ⠀I almost snorted. What did she think she was going to accomplish with those chicken arms of hers? She didn't seem to have any muscle. I could probably wrap my hand around her biceps.

            ⠀She stood on her tiptoes to try and shove the suitcase backward, but only managed to get it stuck at a weird angle. Frowning, she let go of it and I knew what was going to happen before she could even react. Shooting up from my seat, I reached over her and caught the suitcase that had slid back off and was about six inches away from smashing her head open.

            ⠀"Woah," she said, but it was muffled by my chest in her face.

            ⠀I easily pushed it all the way back on the shelf and then secured it before taking a step back away from her.

            ⠀Her face was beat red and I almost rolled my eyes. "Ask for help if you need it," I snapped at her before she could say something dumb like thank you.

            ⠀She laughed sheepishly and pushed her hair behind her ear. "Sorry about that. I like to think I'm stronger than I am."

            ⠀I decided a response wasn't obligatory, so I fell back down onto my seat. My phone had fallen off my lap and onto the floor and I picked it up, frowning at it. The flight would probably take off soon and there was still nothing from Allie. Maybe I'd just send her a text saying good luck? That wouldn't be weird, would it? We were friends first and foremost.

            ⠀"—Allie—"

            ⠀I whipped my head around to look at the girl next to me. She was smiling at me like an idiot again. Allie? Did she know her? "What?"

            ⠀"My name is Callie," she repeated.

            ⠀I felt a faint sense of disappointment. But of course this girl's name would rhyme with Allie's. The world was testing me.

            ⠀"What's your name?"

            ⠀I really didn't feel like talking. I was ninety percent sure what I was feeling was the feel of rejection and I wanted to bare it in silence, as I was unaccustomed to it. The other ten percent thought I was being normal because I did tend to think of Allie a lot.

            ⠀Like right now.

            ⠀I resisted the urge to punch myself in the head. Get over it, Elliot, get over it.

            ⠀"Is this your first time on a plane? It's my first time on a plane so I'm a little bit nervous. Especially because we're going overseas. If we crash we're dead for sure. Like, no chance of survival."

            ⠀What pleasant thoughts this girl was having. "You're talking too much," I said, out of force of habit from being around Allie. When I realized what I said, I froze.

            ⠀"I'm just trying to have a conversation," she shot back.

            ⠀The words rang a bell in my head and I remembered Allie saying that as well. Once upon a time, I wouldn't have felt guilty for my words, but now I did. "Sorry," I forced out. If Allie were here, she'd probably congratulate me and pat me on the shoulder.

            ⠀"It's okay, I get told I talk too much all the time," she responded, holding up her hands and waving them.

            ⠀I nodded and continued to stare at my phone. Maybe that would be the end of the conversation.

            ⠀"Are you waiting for your girlfriend to call?"

Girlfriend? I turned back to the girl— Callie, I think she said— and felt my face grow hot before I could control it. "It's not..."

            ⠀Her features became knowing and she grinned at me. "I know that look. You're in l-o-v-e love."

            ⠀Love? How did she know? Was I that obvious? Just by looking at my phone?

            ⠀"Ah, I'm so jealous! I want to be in love," she sighed wistfully. "What's your girl like? Is she tall? Sporty? Is she buff?"

            ⠀I almost snorted. Allie wasn't any of those things. Sporty was the last thing that came to mind.

            ⠀"She's definitely cute. You look the type to date really pretty girls," Callie observed, eyeing me up and down. "Do you have a picture of her? I bet you have tons."

            ⠀"She's not my girlfriend," I said, uncomfortable with all the questions. And now that she'd mentioned it, I realized I barely had any pictures of Allie. I didn't even think I had one with both of us together. Paul was the one with lots of them, most likely.

            ⠀Callie paused for a moment. "Ah, unrequited love."

            ⠀Did this girl not know what was accepted as a social norm? I stared at her in disbelief. If I thought Allie was bad, then this girl could rival her. Why would anyone trying to randomly start a conversation about love of all things?

            ⠀"I'm also familiar with that," she told me, even though I didn't ask. "You can't really help what your heart wants. Or what someone else's heart wants."

            ⠀I understood that now.

⠀"But you must really love that girl, if so."

            ⠀I gave her a doubtful look. What did she know about anything? "Why do you think that?"

            ⠀"Because if you love someone while knowing they will never love you back, then it must be real love. Why else would you put yourself through that pain?"

             ⠀Her unexpectedly profound words caught me off guard and I felt that awful, squeezing sensation again. Yes, it was real love. I never thought I would fall in love, but I had. Just not with the right person and definitely not at the right time.

            ⠀Callie reached out and patted my knee. "There's a bright side to it."

            ⠀A bright side to it? A bright side to seeing the person you love loving someone else? "What?"

            ⠀"You still have all that love and some day you will meet someone who truly deserves that love and when you give it to them, you'll be glad you didn't waste it on something that might not have meant to be," she told me, nodding her head confidently.

            ⠀There was only so much sappy stuff I could take before it got to me. So while her words did soothe my heart some, I also felt a little gross. "You're weird."

            ⠀"I get that a lot," she told me, shrugging.

⠀"Are you going to talk the whole flight?"

            ⠀"Do you want me to talk the whole flight?"

            ⠀To give her an answer to her question, I angled my body away from her. I didn't want her reading my soul or whatever she was doing the whole time.

⠀A few minutes later the captain announced that we would be taking off and the flight attendants played the instructional video and then ordered us to switch our phones to airplane mode. I hesitated only for a moment before switching it. Allie wasn't going to text me.

⠀The plane started to move and suddenly I felt a claw-like grip on my hand. I jerked it back, glaring at Callie, who had her eyes screwed shut. Was she that scared? I figured she hadn't meant to grab my hand, so I didn't say anything. Her jaw was clenched and she looked like she was trying to keep her breathing calm. I thought I was nervous, but she looked way worse than me.

⠀Who cares? I thought, but I felt a weird nagging feeling. If Allie were here, she'd be trying to comfort that girl in any way she could. Obviously she was having a tough time. But it wasn't my problem. But...

⠀"You should chew some gum," I told her once the initial change of momentum was over.

⠀My voice caused her to jump and her eyes shot open. "What?"

⠀I dug into my backpack and pulled out a pack of gum and handed her a piece. "Chew this. Your ears won't pop as bad."

⠀"Oh, thanks," she responded and took a piece. "Is this your way of telling me my breath stinks?"

⠀I immediately felt my face get hot. "No."

⠀She grinned and popped the gum into her mouth. "I'm just kidding."

⠀I scowled at her, which just made her grin wider. I didn't understand. Why didn't she leave me alone like most people? I didn't exactly have the friendliest face around.

⠀"What's your name, anyway?" she tried.

⠀I debated not telling her.

⠀"Come onnnn," she urged. "If you don't tell me I'll just look at your pass or luggage tag."

⠀"It's Elliot," I said, hoping it would shut her up. Even her voice sounded like Allie's voice.

⠀She kind of pulled back a little and then smiled wryly to herself. "Of course."

⠀"Huh?"

⠀"No, nothing! Nice to meet you, Elliot."

⠀I kind of expected her to call me Eli. When she didn't, I felt slightly annoyed. Which annoyed me even more. Why did I want her to call me Eli? Because she was reminding me of Allie? That just made it worse. I had to get away from this girl.

⠀"Where are you headed all alone, anyway?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

⠀Maybe if I didn't answer her she'd get the hint. But I was stuck with her for the whole flight. It might get awkward. "Studying abroad," I muttered eventually.

⠀"Me too," she said happily. "I'm studying music though."

⠀I blinked. A sinking feeling appeared in my gut.

⠀"I got an e-mail from one of the school's in Paris saying they had some opening spots for some students to come for the summer and of course I said yes!" she went on, confirming my fears.

⠀Suddenly I realized my fate had been decided. I was doomed to live a life of being around girls like Allie.

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You guys said you wanted Elliot to have a love story and I decided to give you guys one! A short one. Maybe five parts? Allie will make an appearance again too :D