Hideaway

IV

"Hurry up lovebirds!" Jack Gilinsky shouts, running a few feet ahead of us.

We decided on going to Hawaii for spring break and immediately ordered our tickets. In order to have a little more spending money while on vacation, we suggested that we buy the cheapest plane tickets possible. And the ones that cost the least were incidentally at four in the fucking morning the next day.

As stubborn as we are, we stayed up until 12:45, allowing us only three hours and fifteen minutes to sleep. I had no idea how Jack G , Matt, Kenny, and Sammy somehow got a full adrenaline rush as they darted through the airport.

Kian, Jack J, Madison and I are all lagging behind, because we are actual normal human beings who get tired.

"Jack! Wait up!" Yells Madison. As if she had him on a leash, he halts in place.

He holds her hand and they go running again. Are they like a thing now?

"Flight 463 to Hawaii, now boarding at gate A-21," a lady over the loudspeaker shouts.

I look at the gates near us. 15, almost there. Jack and those of us who were feeling strangely awake speed off. Kian stops and clutches his shoulder and winces at the touch.

"You okay, babe?" I ask, rushing toward him. If this had anything to do with the burn, I'm gonna be upset.

He nods. "Yeah, I'm fine."

We resume running and zip past a handful of aimlessly confused travelers.

18

19

20

21! We arrive at our gate right on time. The majority of the group is already in the terminal. Kian and I take the back, panting out of breath when we reach a flight attendant with a lei around her neck.

"You just made it," she laughs as she scans our boarding passes. We go onto the plane at last.

Our seats are near the wing of the plane. We see Jack G and Madison cuddly, looking out at the dark sky from the window seat. Sammy and Kenny are sitting together, and Matt is sitting with Jack J.

Kian has the window seat and lays his head down against the window solemnly.

"Kian what's wrong?" I ask, now getting even more concerned. I shove my bag in the overhead compartment and take the seat next to him.

He shakes his head. "No, I'm okay."

I furrow my eyebrows. "I know you're not okay. It's okay not to be okay, just not all the time. And lately you've been like this a lot. I love you, and it's my responsibility to keep you safe, so please tell me what's troubling you so painfully."

He sighs as the flight attendants begin to go over the safety precautions.

"I'm not a construction worker, I'm-"

The plane starts take off and it is too loud so he stops talking and instead looks out at the sun beginning to rise up.